Solar power is an important contributor to electricity generation in Italy, accounting for 12.3% of total generation in 2023, and with a total installed capacity of 36.01 GW. As of 2023, government plans are targeting solar PV capacity to rise to 79 GW by 2030.
Like most countries, solar power usage in Italy was minimal before the 21st century, accounting for less than 0.1% of electricity in 2000. During the 2000s, Italy was the third country after Germany and Spain to experience a 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, but installations have picked up again in the 2020s.
Solar potential
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 5.4 kWh per square meter per day in Sicily.
Photovoltaics
Installed capacity
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 led to less rapid growth during 2011 but stronger medium term growth.
By the end of the solar boom during 2011 Italy was second in the world in terms of installed capacity after Germany. Solar power accounted for 2.6% of electricity generated in the EU and 6.7% of electricity generated in Italy, the most in Europe. In 2011 Italy ranked first in installed solar power from new PV plants, with roughly four times the amount of power that was supplied in 2010. As of the end of 2010, there were 155,977 solar PV plants, with a total capacity of 3,469.9 MW. By the end of 2011 there were 330,196 installations, totalling 12,773 MW. Plants were increasing both in number and size as can be seen from the faster pace of growth of installed capacity compared with raw installation numbers.
Growth after 2011 slowed as the schemes were revised at sporadic intervals rather than timely interventions based on cost and deployment. In 2012 Italy added an estimated 3.4 GW of new capacity, a figure much reduced on 2011 but still a large rise in the context of solar development by that year. A 2013 report by Deutsche Bank concluded that solar power has already reached grid parity in Italy. With the ending of the Conto Energia schemes in July 2013 growth reduced considerably. Nevertheless, since 2014, annual capacity growth has remained consistent at around 2% per year or 300–400 MW per year to 2018. Much of this growth has been driven by residential solar PV, subject to tax allowances, representing 40–50 per cent of new capacity in the years 2017–2018 alone. In 2017 the first incentive-free solar power plant was installed, with a 63 MW capacity followed by others up to 30 MW in size in 2018. By the end of 2018, installed capacity in Italy exceeded the 20 GW milestone for the first time. As of 2018, solar PV accounts for 7.9% of electricity demand, making Italy a major leader in solar power generation and development. Solar installations have recently accelerated.
YearCapacity(MWp)Generation(GWh)Generation%Consumption%Ref200637 20078720084322000.1%20091,1446770.24%0.21%20103,4701,8740.64%0.57%201112,78310,6683.7%3.2%201216,47918,6316.5%5.7%201318,07421,2297.0%6.7%201418,46023,2998.7%7.5%201518,89225,2009.0%8.5%201619,28322,5908.2%201719,70024,8116.9%201820,10022,9007.0%201920,871202021,623202122,560Data is taken from a variety of sources and may only be a good estimate for some years.
Electricity production from solar +Yearly electricity production from solar powerYearElectricity generated from solar (in TWh)Percentage of total electricity production 20070.040.01%20080.190.06%20090.680.24%20101.910.64%201110.83.62%201218.866.39%201321.597.55%201422.318.07%201522.948.20%201622.17.73%201724.388.35%201822.657.92%201923.698.17%202024.949.01%202125.048.77%202228.1210.04%202330.7111.74%202435.9913.45%202544.6316.86%
Future prospects The "National Energy Strategy", SEN, published in 2017, and 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. 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. 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.
Regional installations
More than a fifth of the total production in 2010 came from the southern region of Apulia. 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.
Solar PV market segmentation Installed PV capacity in Italy by class size 2017<10 kW19.6%10–100 kW20.9%100–500 kW37.8%>500 kW21.7% Systems of less than 10 kW accounted for 19.6% of totalled installed capacity. These are single direct use systems, mostly residential solar pv systems. Systems rated 10–100 kW represented 20.9% of capacity and represents systems used collectively within one place such as a large residential block or large commercial premise or intensive agricultural units. The next class size of systems 100–500 kW may represent larger commercial centers, hospitals, schools or industrial / agricultural premises or smaller ground mounted systems. The final category of systems rated over 500 kW mostly represent district power systems, ground mounted panels providing power to perhaps a mix of industrial and commercial sites. It is interesting to note that whilst large power plants receive a lot of attention in solar power articles, installations under 0.5 MW in size actually represent nearly 80% of the installed capacity in Italy in 2017. Nearly all solar PV in Italy is grid connected, with just 14 MW being off-grid as of 2017. Solar PV in Italy by type 2014MW installedBIPV2,650BAPV7,125PV (ground mounted)8,650CPV30
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) measured 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; these use lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto small, highly efficient, multi-junction (MJ) solar cells.
Residential solar PV capacity
According to a report on behalf of the European Commission, Italy had 2,640 MW of residential solar PV capacity with 709,000 residential solar PV prosumers in the country representing 2.7% of households as of 2015. The average size of residential solar PV systems is estimated to be 3.73 kW moving to 2030. The technical potential for residential solar PV in Italy is estimated at 24,867 MW. The payback time for residential solar PV in Italy was six years as of 2015. Some of the advantages of small scale residential solar include eliminating the need for extra land, keeping cost saving advantages in local communities, and empowering households to become prosumers of renewable electricity, thus raising awareness of wasteful consumption habits and environmental issues through direct experience.
Largest PV power plants + Italy's largest photovoltaic (PV) power plantsPV Resources.com (2010). World's largest photovoltaic power plants Name of plant Peak capacity(MW) Production(GWh/year) Capacity factor(%) Start of operation Troia solar farm 103 – – 2019–2020 Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station 84.2 140 19Solar Park Montalto di Castro 2009–2010 Rovigo Photovoltaic Power Plant 70.6 – – 2010 Serenissima Solar Park 48 – – 2011 Cellino San Marco Solar Park 43 56 14.9 2010 Alfonsine Solar Park 36.2 – – 2010 Sant'Alberto Solar Park 34.6 – – 2010 Su-Scioffu Greenhouse PV Park 20.0 – – 2011 Anguillara PV power plant 15 – – 2010 Priolo PV power plant 13.5 – – 2010 Loreo PV power plant 12.6 – – 2010 Craco PV power plant 12 – – 2010 Manzano PV power plant 11 – – 2010 Gamascia PV power plantReal Time Output Display 9.7 – – 2010 Ragusa PV power plant 8.4 – – 2010
Energy policies 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.
Institutions 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 EnvironmentRegulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (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.
Policy The Directive 2009/28/EC establishes a framework for promoting the use of renewable energy sources. 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.
Conto Energia (feed-in tariffs)
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:
Conto Energia 1Conto Energia 2Conto Energia 3Conto Energia 4Conto Energia 5TotalDate28 July 2005 to 6 February 200619 February 20076 August 20105 May 20115 July 2012 Final scheme. Ended 6 July 2013.MW installed163.46,791.21,566.67,600.42,094.918,216.6Yearly cost (million Euro)95.23,270.1648.92,469.0216.96,700.0Yearly cost per kW installed (Euro, estimated)582482414325104368