In the first quarter, Italy added 1.72 GW of new solar capacity, pushing its total installed PV capacity to 32.0 GW by the end of March, as reported by Italia Solare, the country's solar energy association.

Italy achieved a cumulative installed PV capacity of 32 GW by the end of March, distributed across approximately 1.7 million installations, as per the latest data from Italia Solare. In the first quarter of this year, the country added 1.72 GW of new PV capacity, a notable increase compared to the 1.05 GW installed during the same period in 2023.

PV systems below 20 kW in size constituted the third-largest portion of this capacity, totaling 547 MW. The largest segment comprised installations with outputs ranging from 20 kW to 200 kW, accounting for 595 MW, followed by solar plants above 1 MW, which contributed 579 MW to the total capacity.

The regions leading in total new capacity additions are Lombardia with 304 MW, followed by Lazio with 229 MW, Veneto with 188 MW, Emilia Romagna with 150 MW, and Piedmont with 131 MW.

"Italia Solare reported that in the last quarter, compared to Q1 2023, the connected power attributed to the residential sector decreased by 15%, while that of the C&I sector increased by 106%. Meanwhile, the power attributed to the utility-scale sector saw a significant surge of 373%. This notable increase was primarily fueled by the connection of eight plants with a total power exceeding 10 MW. These installations, totaling 281 MW, were distributed across Lombardy (20 MW), Lazio (137 MW), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (24 MW), Sicily (40 MW), Sardinia (50 MW), and Puglia (10 MW)."

The C&I sector demonstrated robust expansion in the first quarter, reaching 595 MW, marking a remarkable 106% increase compared to the same period last year. The trade group attributed this growth primarily to the surge in energy prices throughout 2022, which only returned to average monthly values below €100 ($108.74)/MWh at the onset of 2024. According to the group, the impact of elevated energy prices spurred significant growth in C&I connections until mid-2023.

Currently, the Italian government is backing large-scale solar projects through an auction system, while incentivizing rooftop solar installations via a net-metering program and various fiscal incentives.

From PV Magazine