Italy's most important solar trade show doubled in size this year and was well attended. Italian solar analysts said the success of the fair reflected strong growth in the country's photovoltaic market.
Italy's leading solar event, the K.EY Energy Fair, has finally established itself as the country's leading event for solar and renewable Energy. For many years K.EY Energy has been a side show at Ecomondo, Italy's new Energy and Environmental Fair. Now, however, it has taken on a life of its own and is no longer seen as a regional mini-fair.
About 600 companies took part in the fair in Rimini last week, 28 per cent of them from other countries, according to the Italian exhibition group, which organised the event. The IEG said it had doubled the size and number of visitors to its 12 pavilions, but did not provide specific figures. In previous years, the fair had been held only as a side event at Ecomondo, and therefore could not be compared with previous years.
Andrea Brumgnach, vice-president of Solare, said the success of the fair reflected strong growth in Italian solar product sales and transactions between last year and the first months of the 2023. “We saw an atmosphere of recovery in the solar industry in this show,” he said. “It is now of unprecedented national and international significance, and we have been waiting years for this,” Brumgnach said, after reaching a staggering 2.48 GW last year, Italy could install new photovoltaic capacity of 3 GW to 4 GW in its 2023.
“A lot will depend on the new technical rules that have to come out in the next few months,” he added, “However, it is important that if we are to achieve Italy's energy strategic goal by 2030, we need to be able to install 7 GW to 8 GW of installed capacity per year,” said Alberto Pinori, president of the Italian Renewable Energy Association Anie Rinnovabili, he is also pleased with the results of the K.EY Energy show in Italy. “The show has finally gained authority and filled a gap,” he said, “We saw a complete supply chain here, with installers, developers, manufacturers, and we saw a lot of interesting meetings,” he said, the fair reflects the current growth of Italy's renewable energy market. “The large-scale solar sector is becoming more and more important than it was in previous years,” he said, noting that all industry bodies are now coming together more frequently to urge governments to simplify and streamline licensing procedures. The fair attracted most of China's leading solar panel manufacturers, as well as Europe and Asia's largest inverter manufacturers. The emergence of several Italian component makers, including Sunerg, Trienergia and FuturaSun, also suggests that demand for european-made solar products could soon reach new heights as a result of the REPower EU initiative. All in all, the K. Ey Energy Show has given rise to optimism in Italy's solar sector. “We have good reason to be optimistic right now, but we should avoid insanity and remain vigilant about all future legislative developments,” Brumgnach said.