Italy installed 323 MW of solar in first nine months of 2017

Italy saw the addition of 323 MW of new PV systems in the first nine months of 2017, according to provisional numbers released by the Italian renewable energy association Anie Rinnovabili, which relies on data provided by the country’s grid operator Terna.

This result represents a 13% growth compared to the same period in 2016 and a 31% increase from the first nine months of 2015. In the third quarter of this year, new additions totaled 89.9 MW, up 6% from the same quarter of 2016.

In September, approximately 32.2 MW of new PV systems were connected to the grid in Italy, up from 26.3 MW in August.

September’s result still gives the category for PV plants over 1 MW the largest share in this year’s ranking with around 66.9 MW of newly installed power, followed by PV systems with a capacity between 4.5 kW and 6 kW (47.4 MW), PV systems ranging in size from 20 kW to 100 kW (44.9 MW), solar installations with a power of 10 kW to 20 KW (42.1 MW) and solar power generators with a capacity between 100 kW and 200 kW (32.5 MW).

The region with the largest share so far this year is Lazio, where several new large-scale PV plants are located, with 81.4 MW, followed by Lombardia (41.9 MW), Veneto (30.5 MW) and Emilia Romagna (30.5 MW).

According to the latest official statistic released by the energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), Italy had approximately 19.28 GW of installed PV capacity at the end of 2016. This means that the country should have reached approximately 19.6 GW of installed solar capacity at the end of September.