The Italian authorities have introduced new provisions in the DL Energia decree to … Contact online >>
The Italian authorities have introduced new provisions in the DL Energia decree to
Solar power is an important contributor to electricity generation in Italy, accounting for 11.8% of total generation in 2023, up from 0.6% in 2010 and less than 0.1% in 2000.[1]
Total installed solar power capacity in the country reached 30.3 GW at the end of 2023.[2][3] Current (2023) government plans are targeting solar PV capacity to rise to 79 GW by 2030.[4]
Like most countries, solar power usage in Italy was minimal before the 21st century. During the 2000s, however, Italy was the third country after Germany and Spain to experience an unprecedented boom in solar installations after actively promoting the energy source through government incentives. Solar capacity growth slowed in the 2010s, due to cessation of governmental subsidy programmes,[5] but installations have picked up in the 2020s.[6]
The entire nation of Italy retains high potential for solar energy production, ranging from 3.6 kWh per square meter per day in the Po river plain to 5.4kWh per square meter per day in Sicily.[7]
Installed capacity in Italy was less than 100 MW before 2008. Growth accelerated during 2008 and 2009 to reach over 1,000 MW installed capacity and tripled during 2010 to exceed 3,000 MW. The standout boom year in Italy was during 2011 when over 9,000 MW of solar power was added. This huge and rapid rise in installations was mostly due to the very generous "Conto Energia" support schemes operating during these years. A more responsive support scheme might have reduced support more quickly and lead to less rapid growth during 2011 but stronger medium term growth.
The "National Energy Strategy", SEN, published in 2017 and in the "Proposal of an Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate" (PNIEC), published in December 2018 outline a target of reaching 50 GW of Solar PV installed power by 2030.[14] This is part of a strategy to obtain 30% of Gross Final Energy Consumption from renewable sources by 2030, a measure including not only electrical energy but all energy consumed in Italy.[14] A new Decree for Renewable sources is being awaited by the Solar industry which if adopted will support maintenance, re-powering and revamping of existing plants and new measures to benefit residential Solar PV.
More than a fifth of the total production in 2010 came from the southern region of Apulia.[9]: 30 In 2011, 20% came from Apulia, followed by 10% from Emilia-Romagna. The annual energy production from solar PV in Italy ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 kWh per installed kWp.[9]
Building Integrated Photovoltaic systems (BIPV) accounted for 2,650 MW of capacity in 2014, these are solar cells integrated into the building itself such as construction materials, roof tiles and ceramic or glass facades. Building Applied Photovoltaic systems (BAPV) measure 7,125 MW and are regular solar cell systems that are generally installed on top of roofs. Ground mounted PV totalled 8,650 MW whilst Concentrator Photovoltaics (CPV) amounted to 30 MW which use lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto small, highly efficient, multi-junction (MJ) solar cells.
Government targets for renewable energy sources (RES) and different support schemes, especially for solar photovoltaics, resulted in an increase from 7.9% (2005) to 18.2% (2015) in total share of renewable energy in the total primary energy supply (TPES). 1.6% of the 18.2% renewables share is made up of solar energy. From 2005 to 2015 solar power has increased on average by 63.7% per year. The share of renewables in electricity generation has increased from 17.2% in 2005 to 40.2% in 2015, including 9.3% of solar power. This is the highest share of solar in electricity among International Energy Agency (IEA) countries. And the third-highest share of solar power in TPES.[40]
Important institutions that are responsible for energy policies, the promotion and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, co-ordination and payment of incentives are the Ministry of Economic Development (MSE), the Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea (MATTM), the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MIPAAF), the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment[41] (ARERA, formerly AEEGSI, Autorità per l''Energia elettrica e il Gas), the Gestore Servizi Energetici (GSE), the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) and Terna.[40]
The Directive 2009/28/EC establishes a framework for promoting the use of renewable energy sources.[42][40] According to this Directive, 17% of Italy''s final energy consumption must be supplied by renewable sources in 2020. Italy''s 2010 National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) identifies sectoral targets and how to achieve them. In the 2013 National Energy Strategy (NES), Italy established energy aims to achieve by 2020 that rises the 17% EU target for renewable energy in final energy consumption to 19% or 20%. Energy efficiency, but also renewable energies, plays an important role for this strategy.[40]
In 2005 the Italian government introduced the first feed in tariffs (FIT) specifically for photovoltaics connected to the grid, the Conto Energia schemes. The payments for the schemes were designed to be made over a 20-year period and to incentivise both smaller and larger producers to invest in the installation of photovoltaic plants and systems. Between 2005 and 2013, five different Conto Energia schemes were introduced by ministerial decree. Each scheme had differing terms and conditions and tariffs provided to producers.
The following table provides a summary of the costs and the solar capacities installed under Conto Energia schemes 1-5:[43]
Final scheme. Ended 6 July 2013
The first Conto Energia resulted in the relatively small amount of 163 MW of new PV installations, perhaps because solar power was still in its infancy in 2005.
In 2007, The second Conto Energia resulted in a massive increase of 6,791 MW of new PVs at an annual cost of €3.27 billion, and was the most costly scheme. Almost half of the total cost of the schemes is accounted for by Conto Energia 2.
Conto Energia 3 ran briefly, resulting in 1,567 MW of installed power at an annual cost of €0.65 billion. This was succeeded by Conto Energia 4 which resulted in the largest increase in solar capacity so far at 7,600 MW of installed power at the annual cost of €2.47 billion.
The final Conto Energia 5 was introduced by ministerial decree in 2012. It was announced that the feed in tariff would end once the total annual costs of the cumulative Conto Energia scheme reached €6.7 billion.[44] This figure was reached in 2013 and the final Conto Energia scheme was ended on 6 July 2013. The final scheme resulted in a further 2,095 MW of installed capacity at a cost of €0.22 billion. Under the Conto Energia incentive scheme, a total of 18,217 MW of installed solar PV power was added at annual cost of €6.7 billion.
In 2013, the support schemes changed and a new scheme, the conto termico, was introduced in the heat sector. This support scheme provides incentives for the installation of renewable heating and cooling systems, and for efficiencient refurbishments, including solar thermal systems. Receiving support from the scheme depends on type of intervention and is granted for two to five years, with the amount depending on expected energy production. Additional factors like greenhouse gases impact of different bioenergy technologies, also influence the support granted. The total annual support payments are capped at €200 million for public administrations and €700 million for privately owned entities.
There are also several other incentives like tax credits for photovoltaic systems and solar thermal energy plants. A net metering scheme supports RES-E producers with plant capacities between 20 kW and 500 kW.[40]
In 2013, the government funded energy technology research, development and demonstration (RD&D) with €529 million. In recent years, other areas of the government budget were restructured. Between 2000 and 2013, nuclear research and development funding decreased from 40.7% to 18.2% in favour of energy efficiency and renewable energy, which grew from 13.8% to 21.5% in the same time period.
Concentrated solar energy technologies and photovoltaics are fields of active projects and research areas. ENEA has been researching on concentrated solar energy technologies since 2001 and introduced several innovations. The Archimede Project is one such developed project.[40]
During World War I, Italy was not able to prevent an energy crisis revealing the dependence on imported fuels, mainly coal. After the crisis, hydro-power installations increased to ensure energy independence. This interest in locally available energy sources was in line with the economic self-sufficiency policies of the fascist regime. With the promotion of these policies, research into renewable energy use increased. As a result, more than 90% of total electricity production was renewable energy by the start of World War II.
After World War II there was a change in policies. Energy demand was rapidly growing, and new policies aimed at supplying energy through imported fossil fuels and the development of nuclear energy. Due to these changes, dependence on imported fuels grew to more than 80% in 2005.
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