Various renewable energy news outlets reported recently that the Italian government had launched a €1.5 billion rebate scheme to support the domestic agricultural sector in the development of 375MW worth of rooftop PV projects. Even though some news outlets said that the scheme is not related to “agrivoltaics”, the Italian government stated that the aim of the scheme is to install PV systems on facility buildings purposed for raising livestock and agro-industrial operations.
Stephano Patuanelli, Italy’s Minister for Agriculture, Food, and Forestry Policies, signed off on the new rebate scheme, which is now part of the country’s wider “National Recovery and Resilience Plan” for addressing the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the €1.5 billion funding, 40% will be allocated to finance projects in southern Italy (i.e., Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia, and Sicily). Projects that will be supported by the rebate scheme are going to be selected through competitive auctions. The ministry also said that adopting renewables will lower energy costs for agricultural businesses.
It should be pointed out that the new rebate scheme for the agricultural sector may subsidize items other than PV installations. These include facility renovations, energy saving solutions such as insulation materials, measures to improve the conditions of livestock animals, etc.
Also in early March, the Italian government introduced the “DL Energia Decree” that has streamlined the application for the net metering of rooftop PV installations (that range from 50kW to 200kW in generation capacity). The degree has also provided a rebate scheme for supporting small and medium businesses that want to install PV systems for self-use.
Going forward, the Italian government will notify the European Commission about the scheme and prepare to launch tenders for the related projects. Renewable news outlets pointed out that Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan has allocated €2.2 billion to the energy sector and €1.1 billion for the development of agrivoltaics.
The eighth renewable energy auction launched by Italy’s energy agency GSE in January has set aside 472MW for rooftop PV systems. While the Italian government is aggressively promoting the development of utility-scale and rooftop PV projects, it has also attempted to keep down energy prices. The price control measures are opposed by the energy sector as a whole. According to the US International Trade Administration, Italy is aiming to have renewables account for 30% of the final domestic gross energy consumption by 2030.
In related news, Italy’s Ministry for Ecological Transition announced in early March that the country plans to phase out gas imports from Russia by 2025. The recent military crisis in Ukraine has prompted many EU states to reconsider their reliance on natural gas from Russia. Whether this move will also expand the deployment of renewable generation technologies in Italy remains to be seen. Indeed, there are calls within the Italian government to ramp up domestic natural gas production.