Enertis Applus+ outlines bankability requirements for utility-scale battery storage projects in Italy
Getting a battery storage project financed in Italy isn’t just about having the right technology. It’s about proving — to lenders, investors, and everyone else holding the purse strings — that the project is built to last. Simone Prato, Country Lead Italy at Enertis Applus+, recently laid out exactly what that takes. In an interview with pv magazine Italia, he draws on the firm’s experience supporting around 80 BESS projects in the country — representing more than 70 GWh of storage capacity — to map out the technical and contractual factors that actually determine whether a project gets funded.
Enertis Applus+ publishes BESS bankability guidance for Italian market
The guidance comes straight from Prato, through an interview published by pv magazine Italia. He pulls from the firm’s hands-on experience in the Italian market to lay out what lenders, developers, and investors need to think about when moving a battery storage project from development into execution.
That portfolio gives the guidance real weight. When you’ve supported around 80 BESS projects totaling more than 70 GWh of storage capacity, you’ve seen a wide range of financing scenarios, technical configurations, and contractual setups across Italy’s growing storage sector. This isn’t theoretical advice — it’s pattern recognition built from direct exposure.
Ambitious renewable energy targets, grid flexibility needs, and supportive policy frameworks have driven a significant pipeline of BESS projects across the country.
Prato walks through how risks shift from early development all the way to operations, covering the full project lifecycle rather than any single phase. Spotting those risks early is what makes or breaks your chances of securing financing in the first place — and that’s the thread running through everything he covers.
Why bankability has become a central concern for Italian BESS developers
Italy’s energy storage market has grown fast in recent years, and that growth has brought sharper scrutiny from the financial community. As more utility-scale projects enter the pipeline, lenders and investors are raising the bar before committing capital.
The concern isn’t abstract. Technical failures, poorly structured contracts, and operational shortcomings translate directly into financial losses — missed revenue targets, cost overruns, disputes that stall a project entirely. That link between technical performance and financial outcome sits at the core of the bankability conversation.
Developers and lenders look at these risks very differently. A developer might be focused on construction timelines and technology choices, while a lender mostly cares about whether projected cash flows are realistic and whether the project can service its debt. Getting everyone aligned requires a shared framework for assessing risk — and that’s where Technical Due Diligence, or TDD, comes in. It systematically reviews a project’s technical and contractual foundations, giving all parties a clearer picture of where the risks are and how serious they might be.
Key technical and contractual factors assessed in due diligence
Battery degradation sits near the top of the list when it comes to technical risk. All battery systems lose capacity over time, but how fast that happens — and what augmentation strategies are in place to manage it — varies considerably between projects. Lenders want to know the revenue model accounts for this realistically.
Supplier reliability is another core concern. A project’s long-term viability depends partly on whether technology suppliers can actually support the system throughout its operational life. A supplier that exits the market or fails to meet service commitments can seriously hurt project performance and, by extension, financing arrangements.
Contractual structures get scrutinized closely too. The terms governing equipment supply, operations and maintenance, and energy offtake can all contain provisions that affect how a project gets financed — catching those early, before they become friction points with lenders, is exactly what TDD is designed to do. Safety and cybersecurity round out the key assessment areas. For utility-scale battery systems, both physical safety risks and cybersecurity vulnerabilities carry real financial consequences, from insurance implications to regulatory exposure.
Context: Italy’s energy storage sector and the role of independent technical advisors
Italy has become one of Europe’s fastest-growing markets for utility-scale battery storage. Ambitious renewable energy targets, grid flexibility needs, and supportive policy frameworks have driven a significant pipeline of BESS projects across the country.
As that pipeline has grown, so has the role of independent technical advisors. Lenders, in particular, are increasingly bringing in firms like Enertis Applus+ to validate the assumptions behind a project’s financial model. An independent assessment provides a level of confidence that internal project documentation alone simply can’t match.
The breadth of Enertis Applus+’s Italian portfolio — 80 projects, more than 70 GWh — shows just how active this market has become. It also means the firm’s guidance is grounded in direct exposure to the specific conditions, regulatory environment, and market dynamics shaping BESS development in Italy.
What the guidance means for the Italian BESS market
The core message from Enertis Applus+ is clear: bankability isn’t a box you check at the end of the development process. It’s something you build into a project from the start — through careful attention to technical design, supplier selection, contractual terms, and risk management.
For developers active in Italy, the practical takeaway is that engaging with TDD early — rather than waiting for lenders to raise concerns — can smooth the path to financing considerably. Investors and lenders, meanwhile, get a reinforced case for independent technical review as a standard part of due diligence rather than an optional add-on.
As similar dynamics play out across European markets, the standards taking shape in Italy may offer a useful reference point for how the broader sector approaches BESS bankability going forward.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
