SunPower Corp. said Monday it will sell solar power plants in Italy to Etrion Corp. for 48 million euros ($36.1 million).
SunPower said the deal will be complete by the end of the third quarter. It said Etrion has already acquired the first part of the Montalto di Castro solar power park, which holds power plants with a capacity of 20 megawatts, for 36 million euros ($27.1 million).
SunPower designed and built the park in the Lazio region of Italy near Rome, and it will continue providing operations and maintenance services.
The 8-megawatt second phase of the park was commissioned this month, and SunPower expects to add another 44 megawatts in capacity by the end of the year. It also expects to sell that capacity by the end of 2010.
Class A shares of SunPower, based in San Jose, Calif., rose 49 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $13.31 in afternoon trading.
