Italy

Italy added 303 MW/632 MWh of distributed energy storage capacity in the first half of 2022. The segment continues to grow in the country, with the regions of Lombardy and Veneto being the two largest contributors.

An international team of scientists developed a nanoparticle structure which, when added to a solar cell, was shown to scatter light and potentially reflect it many times within the cell, contributing to a noticeable jump in current.

The panel has an absorption area of 1.96 m2 and a weight of 27 kg per square meter. According to the manufacturer – Swiss startup TVP Solar – it may be a real booster for thermal output, by combining it with photovoltaics and heat pumps to provide enhanced output per square meter, in particular for low-temperature applications such as district heating.

Scientists tested bifacial PV devices based on silicon and gallium arsenide cells connected in a four terminal layout. They note that the four terminal design offers significant advantages over more common two terminal devices, allowing for a 17% (relative) increase in efficiency thanks to better absorption of light reaching the rear side.

Developers are making hay as far as PPA prices are concerned thanks to eye-watering wholesale electricity prices which mean they can just sell their solar and wind power on the open market.

An international research team has developed a new methodology to increase levels of pollination at ground-mounted solar plants. It involves the development of new vegetated land cover below and around solar parks.

Enel and Vulcan Energy are looking at the potential for lithium mining at a site near Rome.

On June 27, the Guidelines for The Design, Construction and Operation of Agrovoltaic Plants were published in Italy by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, in coordination with the Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics (CREA), Gestore dei Servizi Energetici S.p.A. (GSE), the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), and Research on the Energy System S.p.A. (RSE). From now on, developers and, in general, RES plant owners will have to consider the principles herein outlined, to have their plants classified as agrovoltaic.

The Regional Court of Apulia in Italy has ruled that the regional authorities must not deny permits to solar projects on agricultural land without considering how they combine electricity generation with crop cultivation and the raising of livestock. pv magazine spoke to Emilio Sani from law firm Sani Zangrando about the ruling’s potential consequences.

Italy installed 281 MW more solar in the first three months of the year than it did in the same period a year earlier. Its cumulative capacity surpassed 23 GW by the end of March.