JLEN invests in Italian waste-to-energy plant – JLEN Environmental Assets Group has bought a 45% equity stake in Energie Tecnologie Ambiente S.r.l. (ETA). ETA is a 16.8MW energy-from-waste power plant. The plant processes refuse derived fuel (RDF) and is located in the municipality of Manfredonia, in the Apulia region of southern Italy (website, in Italian, here). The €26.75m investment has been made alongside Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners SCSp, which is also buying a 45% equity stake. The 10% balance is being retained by the vendor – Marcegaglia Investments S.r.l.
Completion of the deal is subject to a number of conditions which are expected to be finalised by the end of May 2021.
The plant uses proven technology and has been fully operational since 2012. It earns revenues from:
- gate fees paid by RDF suppliers
- incentives related to producing electricity from renewable energy; and
- the sale of electricity to the market.
Altogether, about 74% of ETA’s revenues are considered to be backed by long-term contracts or subsidies.
While this is JLEN’s first investment in Italy, the investment adviser has a team based in Italy which was instrumental in the execution of the acquisition and will remain closely involved in the management of the asset.