According to statistics published by the Italian photovoltaic association, Italia Solare, last year in Italy the total installed capacity of new projects reached around 937 MW. This is over 300 MWp more than in 2020 (625.4 MWp). The development of the market can be seen even more clearly when looking at the figures for the previous four years (2016-2019), when the total capacity of new installations was 1.8 GWp.
“R.Power has been present on the Italian market for several years, we are just building our first power plants that won the auctions at the beginning of 2022 and we see great market potential precisely thanks to the PV auction system as well as the growing area of PPAs. Over the next 12 months, our portfolio of projects under development is expected to reach 1 GWp. We want to invest in diverse projects – both geographically and in terms of project size and type. These will include both farms on industrial land and agrovoltaics projects” says Jakub Charaszkiewicz, who is responsible for the development of the R.Power Group in Italy.
Italy is one of the more promising markets for the PV sector, not only because of the favourable climatic conditions but also because of the government’s ambitions. The National Energy Development Plan (Piano Nazionale Integrato per l'Energia e il Clima, PNIEC) aims to increase solar power to 50 GWp by 2030. The Energy Decree passed at the end of April, which includes certain agricultural areas in a simplified permitting procedure and brings the issuing of environmental permits for large PV projects under the remit of local authorities, is also undoubtedly a major facilitator for project development. This allows the whole process to take place much less time than before.
“The changes introduced will undoubtedly radically develop the PV sector in Italy and attract new investors. However, reaching 50 GWp of capacity in 2030 will be a major challenge for the market, requiring cooperation between all stakeholders. As an entity with experience and assets in many markets, we believe that we can effectively support the green transformation of the energy system in Italy” adds Jakub Charaszkiewicz.
