Italy has one of the largest solar fleets in Europe, and much of it was built by owners who were never meant to hold it forever: farmers, family businesses, local developers and single-asset SPVs. That makes the Italian secondary market one of the most active in Europe for operating PV, and one where the best plants rarely appear in a public auction.
This guide covers what foreign investors need to know before buying an operating plant in Italy: how deals are structured, what to check in due diligence and what drives the price.
Share deal or asset deal
Most Italian plants are held in a dedicated SPV, usually an S.r.l. The choice of structure shapes the whole transaction.
Share deal
You buy the quotas of the company that owns the plant. Authorisations, the GSE incentive agreement, the grid connection contract, land rights and operating contracts all stay in place, because their holder does not change. The trade-off is that you inherit the company's history, including any tax, legal or regulatory liabilities. Due diligence goes deeper, and the purchase agreement relies on warranties and indemnities.
Asset deal
You buy the plant itself, usually through your own Italian vehicle. The liability profile is cleaner, but each permit, contract and agreement has to be transferred, including notifying the GSE of the change of ownership for incentivised plants. Transfer taxes and timing also differ from a share deal, so the structure should be chosen with an Italian tax advisor early in the process.
Where a plant is financed through a leasing contract or a project loan, the lender's consent to the change of control or transfer is usually needed. Check this at teaser stage, as it often sets the closing timeline.
What to check in due diligence
Incentives and GSE records
For incentivised plants, obtain the GSE contract, the recognised date of entry into operation, the strike price or tariff, and the settlement history. Check whether the plant has ever been inspected by the GSE and with what outcome. Our guide to FER X and incentivised plants covers the specific points in detail.
Authorisations
Verify that the plant was built under a valid permit and matches it: capacity, layout and location. Older plants were often authorised through simplified procedures, and any mismatch between the permit and what was actually built can affect the incentive.
Land and surface rights
Most ground-mounted plants sit on land held through a surface right or a long lease, not owned outright. Check that the right is properly registered and that its duration covers the plant's full remaining useful life, not just the incentive period. A short land right is one of the most common reasons plants sell below expectations.
Grid connection
Review the connection contract with the grid operator, any curtailment history and the connection point's capacity if you plan to add storage or repower later.
Technical performance
Compare the monthly production history against an independent yield estimate. Look at performance ratio, degradation, inverter age and replacement plans, and module issues such as hotspots or PID. A drone thermographic survey is cheap compared with the cost of discovering defects after closing.
Contracts
Review the O&M agreement, insurance policies, security and monitoring, and how the energy is sold: through the GSE's dedicated withdrawal scheme, on the market through a trader, or under a PPA.
End of life
Check how module end-of-life obligations are covered and how decommissioning and site restoration are guaranteed under the permit and the land agreement.
What drives the price
- Incentive terms. The strike price or tariff, the years remaining on the GSE contract and how much of the production it covers.
- Merchant value. Revenue outside the incentive and after it ends, which depends on power price assumptions, capture prices in the plant's market zone and a land right that lasts long enough.
- Actual performance. Measured production, not the original design yield.
- Capex ahead. Inverter replacements, module repairs, fencing and security upgrades.
- Upside. Repowering, storage retrofit, or a PPA that improves the merchant tail.
- Existing debt. Leasing or loans that must be repaid or taken over at closing.
Typical timeline
For a single plant with clean documentation, three to six months from NDA to closing is realistic: a few weeks for the teaser and first data, four to eight weeks of due diligence after a non-binding offer and exclusivity, then negotiation of the purchase agreement and satisfaction of conditions such as lender consents. Portfolios take longer, mostly because documentation quality varies from plant to plant.
Want off-market deals that match your mandate? Submit your acquisition criteria and we will contact you with plants that fit, under NDA.