In the first half of this year, Italy added 2.3GW of solar power generation capacity, bringing its cumulative installed PV capacity to 27.4GW by the end of June, according to Italia Solare, Italy's national solar energy association.
Significant growth in industrial, commercial and ground-level projects
In the first half of this year, about 47% of Italy's new power generation came from residential projects, and the recent contribution to growth was mainly driven by industrial and commercial and ground projects above 1MW.
Italia Solare said: "Compared with the first quarter of this year, the industrial, commercial and ground projects in the second quarter have achieved substantial growth, with the former increasing by 49% and the latter increasing by 89%."
However, new installations in the residential sector fell slightly, from 569MW in the first quarter of 2023 to 528MW in the second quarter.
Regions with the highest share of new grid connections include Lombardy with 429MW, Veneto with 353MW and Emilia-Romagna with 235MW.
Lombardy maintained its first position with a cumulative generation of 3.58GW, widening the gap with Puglia, which has a photovoltaic generation capacity of 3.18GW. In the first half of this year, Lombardy led the grid with 429MW, followed by Veneto with 353MW and Emilia Romagna with 235MW.
Italian industrial and commercial roof market potential
As one of the important photovoltaic markets in Europe, Italy has a stable demand for photovoltaic power. Statistics from Italy’s Cerved consulting company show that there are 110,000 factories and industrial roofs in Italy, which have the comprehensive conditions for installing large-scale photovoltaic equipment, such as scale, geographical location, energy consumption, and financial strength. The total area is 300 square kilometers, enough to achieve 30GW of power supply amount, which can reduce about 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
Looking at the long-term perspective, according to the data of the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE), Italy plans to achieve 65% of its electricity generation from renewable energy by 2030. In its latest proposal to the EU for the National Integrated Program for Energy and Climate (PNIEC), the ministry noted that Italy plans to source 40% of its total energy needs and 65% of its electricity consumption from renewable sources by the end of the century.
Under the huge demand for renewable energy, Italy has been continuously developing renewable energy, of which photovoltaic power generation is an important part. As Italy's demand for sustainable energy increases, the installation and use of photovoltaic projects is gradually increasing.