The Italian electricity regulator Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) has published the results of the latest tender for the support of agri-PV systems. Rome is funding the construction of a total of 540 projects of this type with a total capacity of 1,548 megawatts.
Bids with 1.7 gigawatts registered
Agri-PV is the only option in Italy for constructing solar plants on agricultural land. All other forms of solar parks on such land are not permitted. However, to support the growth of photovoltaics, the Italian government issued a decree in December 2023 to support agri-PV systems. Part of the funding is granted in the form of an investment subsidy. A second part of the funds will be awarded in the form of market premiums (contract for difference). A total of 643 projects with a total output of 1.7 gigawatts took part in the tender for these subsidies. As many as four out of five proposals were approved by the GSE.
EU money used
The tender took place as part of the Italian government's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza - PNRR). Rome is using this plan to distribute the financial resources that Italy has received from the EU from the Next Generation EU economic stimulus package. After all, there is almost 200 billion euros in this funding pot.
Agri-PV project with 48 megawatts of power to be built in Sardinia
Farmers show great interest in solar energy
This is intended to finance digitalisation, innovation, the energy transition, the development of infrastructure for sustainable mobility, education and research, cohesion and inclusion as well as healthcare. „It is a very encouraging result that confirms the optimal definition of the measure provided for in the PNRR, but above all confirms the immense interest of agricultural businesses in solutions that enable high-quality food production with parallel renewable energy solutions,“ emphasises Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, with regard to the many applications for the promotion of agri-PV systems.
Farmers have to be involved
Finally, a prerequisite for participation in the tender was that the project is not only implemented by EPC companies. Rather, at least one agricultural business must be directly involved in the project. A portion of the tendered capacity is also reserved for smaller plants with a maximum power of one megawatt, which are financed by the farms themselves. In addition, the systems may not significantly impair agricultural production. For this reason, support is primarily granted for systems that are either vertically mounted or whose modules are moved using a tracker.
How to activate agricultural areas to produce solar electricity
Agri-PV from 200 kilowatts to over 200 megawatts
There is a correspondingly wide range in the size of the systems that receive support. For example, a farmer in Sicily will install an agri-PV system with an output of 199 kilowatts. However, an agri-PV power plant with an output of 213.7 megawatts will also be built in Sicily under the leadership of the project planner Sun Project. (su)
