According to foreign media reports on December 5, Italy's Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, has signed a decree allocating €320 million to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in generating their own renewable energy. The initiative aims to incentivize photovoltaic power, small-scale wind power, and energy storage systems, enhancing energy independence while posit
The funding, drawn from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, includes €320 million, with 40% designated for southern regions, specifically Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Apulia, Sardinia, and Sicily.
Another 40% of the funds will be allocated to micro and small enterprises. If the reserved funds are not fully utilized, the remaining balance will be redistributed to fund medium-sized companies and projects in other regions. Medium-sized enterprises can receive up to 30% subsidies, while micro and small enterprises are eligible for up to 40%. Additionally, 30% of the subsidy covers costs for additional energy storage components, and 50% supports preliminary energy diagnostics required for implementing measures outlined in the decree.
With stronger policy support and improved market mechanisms, Italy is expected to accelerate its progress toward its 2030 energy transition goals.
Current State of Italy's Energy Storage Development
Italy’s early surge in energy storage deployment was driven by substantial subsidies for residential systems, such as the 110% Super Bonus. However, as tax credits have been phased out and credit transfers have faced challenges, demand for residential storage has slowed.
In 2024, the construction of large-scale energy storage projects is expected to accelerate. Additionally, the launch of the storage auction mechanism (MACSE), backed by a €17.7 billion budget, is anticipated in 2024, rapidly transitioning the Italian energy storage market to a large-scale, project-driven structure.
According to Trendforce, residential storage demand has significantly declined due to the phase-out of the Super Bonus 110%. Without new subsidy policies, residential installation demand is likely to shrink further, although PV and storage systems will remain the primary installation type. Future distributed growth may shift toward commercial and industrial storage.
For large-scale storage, the substantial year-on-year growth in installations in 2024 is primarily due to the commencement of construction on many projects with 3-4 hour storage durations.
As of Q1 2024, only 120 MW of the 2.1 GW of storage projects awarded through capacity auctions have been commissioned, while only 122 MW of the 230 MW awarded through fast reserve auctions have been put into operation.
Following a period of rapid renewable energy deployment driven by the energy crisis, European countries are now grappling with increasingly severe wind and solar curtailment issues. In response, governments are enhancing fiscal support for energy storage, which is expected to further drive storage development.
Trendforce analysts predict that Italy’s energy storage market will reach a peak in large-scale storage grid connections in the latter half of 2024. Italy’s new energy storage installations are projected to reach 2.5 GW/6.2 GWh in 2024, representing year-on-year growth of 25% and 61%, respectively.
Source：Trendforce