Renewable energies are of great interest to our country today because of two strategic objectives: the need to contribute to the reduction of energy dependence on foreign superpowers and the commitment to contribute to the fight against climate change, as set out in Goal 13 of the UN 2030 Agenda. Founded in 2012, iQuadro is a company highly specialised in the design and implementation of solutions based on the use of renewable energy that has managed to establish its leadership in a highly competitive market thanks to a strategic vision and a truly innovative business approach. Talking to us about this all-Italian excellence, with its registered office in Calabria and other operating sites in Lombardy and Campania, is engineer Vincenzo Sposato, the company’s sole director.
by Roberta Imbimbo
Mr Sposato, with what mission was iQuadro born?
Born in 2012 (this year it celebrates its first 10 years!), from the meeting of a group of engineers and professionals from the energy sector who wanted to set up their own consultancy company for the implementation of renewable energies in Southern Italy, since its foundation iQuadro has set itself the ambitious goal of becoming an important reference point in the field of energy efficiency, on the strength of an innovative vision, which has proved rewarding over time, and a highly qualified and reliable multidisciplinary team. After focusing for years on photovoltaics, the company has subsequently expanded its core business to other important activities, consequently broadening its offer to become a strategic partner for its customers, both families wishing to become part of the world of renewable energy, and companies with a green heart wishing to make their production plants more efficient in order to improve their ecological footprint. Today iQuadro is an Energy Service Company (ESCo) highly specialised in the field of energy efficiency, able to offer both qualified consultancy in the field of renewable energy and room air-conditioning and engineering services aimed at designing and implementing energy efficiency and air-conditioning solutions, as well as top-quality integrated financial services to guide clients in accessing credit or the numerous deductions and facilitations provided by the NRP. As energy efficiency can be a very costly endeavour, for each type of client iQuadro is able to identify the right financial solutions to support energy efficiency investments. (domestic customers, for example, can access invoice discount with credit assignment; while companies can access services such as Tax Credit, credit assignment, subsidised finance, Pure Capital Operating Rental, ESCO on energy and the Asbestos Fund).
What are your strengths? What peculiarities distinguish you from your competitors?
We have always made it our priority to facilitate the energy transition urgently required by Europe, thereby contributing to a more sustainable future, and we have always endeavoured to distinguish ourselves in the market by our reliability, professionalism, and high level of specialisation. In addition to the experience and expertise gained over many years of activity, our main added value, which clearly differentiates us from other market players, is our ability to provide tailor-made consultancy with high added value, tailored to the needs of the individual customer, and to evolve by proactively anticipating the trends of a constantly evolving market that now offers alternative solutions (to photovoltaics) for energy efficiency! This has enabled us to increase our customer base year after year in the Industry, Retail and Consumer markets. As far as the Industry market in particular is concerned, the experience accumulated over many years of activity has led us to understand many important points of the application of renewables in this field and the realisation of a zero-emission industry. That is why we are now perfectly able to support Italian entrepreneurs in this efficiency process (planning and executing the works) and in identifying the most suitable financial measure to develop their business activities with a view to the circular economy and sustainable development.
Many goals have been achieved to date. Future goals?
We project ourselves with enthusiasm towards the design and development of new RECs (Renewable Energy Communities) and collective self-consumption. Just as in the industrial field, we are focused on new solutions for the agricultural sector. For example, the ‘Agrisola-re Park’ Measure, Mission 2 ‘Green Revolution and Ecological Transition’ of the PNRR, aims to support investments for the construction of photovoltaic solar power plants in the agricultural and agro-industrial sector, excluding land consumption. In particular, the Measure (the call for tenders is open and the window is from 27 September to 27 October) provides for the selection and financing of interventions that consist in the purchase and installation of solar panels on the roofs and greenhouses of pre-existing buildings (such as agricultural, zootechnical and agro-industrial sheds) and instrumental to the activities of the beneficiary enterprises. In addition, the Ministry of Ecological Transition will launch by 31 December 2022 the first call for tenders to take advantage of the funds allocated by the PNRR (approximately EUR 1.2 billion) for the construction of agro-voltaic plants, i.e. plants that adopt integrative and innovative solutions, with the installation of modules elevated from the ground so as not to compromise the continuity of agricultural and pastoral cultivation activities, also allowing the application of digi-tal and precision farming tools. Such installations therefore do not consume soil, like ground-mounted photovoltaics. As they do not take land away from agriculture, they offer numerous advantages: they combat land abandonment by increasing productivity, they reduce evapotranspiration (with a considerable saving of water), and they create a favourable synergy (made up of reduced exposure to the sun, soil moisture and temperature) for plant growth and agricultural production in general. In sum, iQuadro is a one-stop shop for identifying and exploiting all the numerous opportunities and incentives provided by the PNRR plan: its team of engineers and energy efficiency experts is able to follow the customer at 360 degrees in adhering to these measures: from documentation analysis to feasibility studies, from design to construction.
For more info (https://iquadro.energy)
