U.K.-based Octopus Investments, part of the Octopus Group, has secured a five-year PPA from Italian power provider, Ego for the sale of electricity from five PV plants totaling 40 MW, which it is building in Assemini, near Cagliari, on Italy’s largest island, Sardinia.

According to a press release from Ego, construction on the plants is currently ongoing, while their completion is scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

The five facilities, which are being built in an unspecified industrial area, will rely on mono-axial solar tracker technology, Ego said without providing any further technical or financial details.

The projects are part of Octopus’s 173 MW Italian solar portfolio, of which 66 MW are already operational in Montalto di Castro, central Italy. The four solar plants, commissioned in March of last year, are also providing power to Ego, although under a shorter two-year PPA.

Several so-called “grid-parity” projects have been announced over the past months in Italy. Italian renewable energy developer, Limes RE and Italy-based consultancy, Prothea Srl announced a 500 MW pipeline of unsubsidized PV projects in early February.

On top of this, the Italian government is also planning to launch an auction mechanism for large-scale wind and solar power projects starting from July.

The combined effect of auctions and the PPA segment, in the end, may revive the business for large-scale solar in Italy, thus bringing Italian PV back as one of Europe’s largest solar markets.