Italy

Italy’s main solar event, held in Rimini last week, saw an increasing number of visitors this year. The Italian solar market, however, has not come through on its capacity expansion promises, due to lower than expected development in the PPA segment for large-scale solar; although the upcoming renewables decree, expected to be issued by the end of this year, may spur development through a series of auctions and tenders. Residential and commercial PV continue to sustain the country’s solar growth.

Newly installed PV capacity for the first nine months of this year has reached 300.9 MW. September was the month with the largest growth this year.

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese scientists have published a study about energy consumption and the environmental footprint of the use of solar-hybrid irrigation systems in olive plantations in Portugal and Morocco.

Although the Italian solar market registered an 11% drop in new PV installations in the first eight months of 2018, by the end of the year, it will likely surpass 20 GW of cumulative installed solar power. No large-scale PV facilities have been grid connected so far this year, but monthly average growth remains in line with that of the previous two years.

In a meeting with domestic energy associations, the Italian government has confirmed the general thrust of the draft decree for solar and renewable energies. It has also proposed changes favorable for PV linked to projects for asbestos removal and the rehabilitation of polluted or soil-degraded areas for large-scale projects selected in upcoming RE auctions. Alberto Pinori, president of Italy’s renewable energy association, Anie Rinnovabili, has praised the government’s new attitude and its agencies. He further stressed the importance of the obligation of only using new components for renewable projects, solar included, which will likely be included in the decree.

The Italian Revenue Agency has clarified that the purchase and installation of a residential storage system linked to a rooftop PV system may also take advantage of the 50% of Irpef deduction, an indirect incentive that has played a major role in driving solar growth in the residential and commercial segments over the past years.

The new Italian government has maintained, almost unchanged, the provisions for the creation of an auction scheme for solar, wind and other renewables designed by the previous government. It has, however, postponed the first auction for large-scale projects from November to January. Furthermore, it has introduced new rules to enable the replacement of asbestos covers with rooftop PV systems through an ad-hoc FIT scheme.

After earmarking €4 million last year, Italy’s most dynamic and affleunt region is further supporting solar+storage installations through a rebate scheme.

Despite recent announcements for large-scale solar projects across Italy, the country has seen just residential and commercial and industrial projects come online in 2018. Meanwhile, solar has been able to cover 8% of national demand in the first half of this year.

The Italian Council of Ministers said that Sicily’s temporary suspension of all approvals for large-scale wind and solar project is unconstitutional.