Italy sets 2030 solar target of 50 GW - SolarStar

Italy  ’sMinistryofEconomicDevelopment(MISE)issuedthecountry’snewNationalIntegratedPlanforClimateEnergy2030,whichhasprovidedmoreclarityontherenewableenergytargetslaidoutintheenergystrategyfortheperiod2020-2030–theStrategiaEnergeticaNazionale–definedbythepreviousgovernmentinNovember2017.

Accordingtothenewplan,solar  hasseenits2030targetforpowergenerationrevisedupfrom72TWhto74TWhithasalsobeengivenaninstalledcapacitytarget–50GW–thatwasnotpresentintheSEN,despitepredictionsaround30GWwouldbeneededtoachievethe72TWhtarget.

ItalyhasaninstalledPVcapacityofalmost20GW,meaningaround7GWmorewillberequiredtohittheMISEtargetof26.6GWofPVcapacityby2025.

SolarisexpectedtorepresentmorethanthehalfofItaly’srenewablescapacity,whichisexpectedtoreach93.1GWfromaround54GWcurrently.Thesecondlargestrenewableenergysourceisexpectedtobehydropower–atraditionalstrengthofthemountainousnation–with19.2GW,followedbywind(18.4GW)biomass(3.7GW).

Obstaclesremain

TheItaliangovernmenthasstipulatedground-mountedPVwillhavetobeimplementedwithaminimallossofagriculturall.

“Thisnewapproachisaimedatsupportingtheinstallationofsolarpowergeneratorsmainlyonbuildings,sheds,carparks,serviceareasetc,”statesthedocument.“However,thediffusionoflargeground-mountedphotovoltaicsystemsremainsimportantfortheachievementofthe2030objectives,butunproductiveareasnotdestinedforotheruses,orunusedagriculturalareas,willhavetobeused.”

Theauthorizationprocessfordevelopinglarge-scalePVtheavailabilityoflappearsettoremainsignificantobstaclesfordevelopers,aspvmagazinereportedfromItaly’smainsolarevent–KeySolar–inRiminiinNovember.

“Ontheauthorizationside,asIsaid,thegovernmentshoulddefine,togetherwiththeregions,clearrulesthatreduce[the]timeframeencouragetheinvolvementoflocalrealities,adecisivesteptoreachthe2030targets,”renewableenergyconsultantGianniSilvestrinitoldpvmagazineatthetime.“Therealchallengeforthisgovernmentwillnolongerbebasedonthedefinitionofnewincentives,butontheadaptationoftheregulationsontheclarityoftheauthorizationprocesses.”

Despitesuchchallenges,Italy’sprivatePPAsegmentsawanincreasingnumberofdealsforlarge-scalesolarinrecentmonthsthenation’sfirstauctionforlargewindPVprojectsisexpectedtobeissuedinthenearfuture.