PV
In the first four months of 2024, Italy added 2.16 GW of PV capacity, representing a 53% increase compared to the same period in 2023 (1.41 GW). Notably, 444.6 MW of PV capacity was commissioned in April 2024.
Despite a 24% increase from April 2023, this month's installations were the lowest since the beginning of 2024, with the number of newly connected PV plants continuing to decline, down by 18%.
Reviewing the first four months of this year and analyzing various market segments, the negative growth trend in residential PV installations persists. Compared to the first four months of 2023, the total capacity of PV plants connected to the grid ranging from 3 kW to 12 kW decreased by 19%, while those between 12 kW and 20 kW remained almost unchanged.
The growth in commercial and industrial PV installations was once again confirmed. From January to April 2024, the capacity of PV plants ranging from 20 kW to 200 kW increased by 67%. Installations between 200 kW and 1 MW saw a significant increase of 103%. PV plants with a capacity of 1 MW to 10 MW grew by 131% compared to the first four months of 2023. From January to April, 164 new PV plants, totaling approximately 410 MW, were commissioned.
In April, a large PV plant exceeding 10 MW, specifically a 16 MW solar park, was also commissioned. Since the beginning of the year, a total of nine large PV plants with a combined capacity of around 300 MW have been commissioned (compared to zero in the first four months of 2023).
As of the end of April 2024, Italy had 1.7 million PV plants with a total capacity of approximately 32.5 GW.
Energy Storage
In the first quarter of 2024, the number of newly connected energy storage systems decreased by 18%.
According to data processed and disseminated by Anie Rinnovabili from Terna, 71,123 new energy storage systems were connected in Q1 2024, compared to 86,861 systems in the same period of 2023, marking an 18% decline. The total capacity of newly connected storage systems was 440 MW/914 MWh, with 96% being DC-coupled systems.
The largest decline was observed in residential energy storage installations. If not for several large storage systems coming online, the decrease in installations would have been even worse.
As of March 31, 2024, there were 593,330 installed energy storage systems with a total capacity of 3,892 MW/7,891 MWh. Of these, 92% of the systems had a capacity of less than 20 kWh. Systems with capacities between 5 kWh and 10 kWh accounted for 35%, and those between 10 kWh and 15 kWh accounted for 38%. Lombardy had the most installed storage systems (108,590 systems, 686 MW/1,366 MWh), followed by Veneto (76,094 systems, 489 MW/1,079 MWh) and Emilia-Romagna (57,486 systems, 436 MW/985 MWh).
Source: PV STORAGE TECH