Italy will reportedly hold up to seven rounds of open biddings for 4.8 GW of renewable energy capacities during 2020-2021, according to the country’s Ministry of Economic Development.

The plan complies with a bill that was approved by the European Parliament in June, which calls for the promotion of PV power and other renewable energy projects via open biddings and provision of incentives.

The first open bidding for renewable energy capacity in Italy will be launched on September 30th, followed by three rounds of open biddings in 2020 and another three in 2021, according to the government's schedule. Up to 500 MW of capacities will be available for the first and second rounds of open biddings, followed by 700 MW for the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, and 800 MW for the last two rounds.

This marks the first time that the Italian government has launched open biddings for renewable energy projects, following the termination of its subsidies for such projects in 2013.

According to the government’s regulations, the developers can build their facilities only on vacant plots of land in urban areas and industrial zones, but not on farmlands.

The plan to re-launch the biddings is a part of the Italian government's effort to boost its accumulated PV power capacities from 20GW now to 50 GW by 2030.