Italy: PV systems installed with irregular components will not lose incentives

In the corrective measures of the Stability and Growth Pact, which were published in the Italian Official Journal on June 24, the government of prime minister Paolo Gentiloni has decided that PV installations up to 3 kW relying on irregular components will not lose the FITs granted by the country’s five incentive program for PV Conto Energia.

According to the text of the decree, PV systems installed with non-certified components or with certifications that are not complying with relevant regulations will be applied a 20% FIT reduction starting from the date at which the PV system operator signed a FIT contract with Italy’s energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE).

The government stressed that if irregularities will be spontaneously reported by the PV system owners, the level of the FIT reduction will be 50% less, ie, falling to 10% rather than 20%.

Meanwhile the GSE has published on its website the Applicativo SIAD, the new online simplified procedure to register interventions for revamping and repowering of PV systems under the five Conto Energia program.

The new rules for the technological improvement of existing PV installations were issued by the GSE in mid-March. The new regulation is expected to spur growth in the Italian PV sector, as these allow a 5% capacity increase for PV installations up to 20 kW and 1% for PV systems with a capacity over 20 kW, with the additional capacity having access to the FIT scheme.