In the first six months of this year, installers in Italy added more than 2.3 gigawatts of new photovoltaic capacity. This is an increase of 129 per cent compared to the same period last year. This is reported by the industry association Italia Solare based on connection data from Terna. The company operates about 90 per cent of the grid in Italy.
Mainly private installations in the first quarter
The largest part of the demand is due to homeowners. At 1,096 megawatts, about 47 per cent of the systems were built on house roofs. This includes systems with an output of up to twelve kilowatts. However, the first quarter was the decisive factor here. This is because the construction figures in the second quarter fell again for the first time since May 2022. The construction of small rooftop systems fell by seven per cent in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter.
Commercial installations have increased
The remainder was largely commercial solar installations for self-consumption with an output between 20 kilowatts and one megawatt. In this segment, the market has increased, especially in the second quarter of 2023. Between April and the end of June, 49 per cent more commercial systems were installed than in the months of January to March.
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This means that the increase in the commercial sector has offset the decline in private rooftop installations, knows Rocco Viscontini, President of Italia Solare. He attributes the market growth mainly to the still high electricity prices. "This means that companies have understood that securing energy prices is crucial and that solar protects them from the risk of price increases that could jeopardise the company's profitability," says Viscontini.
Smaller solar parks more in demand again
The addition of systems between one and 10 megawatts actually increased by 69 per cent in the second quarter compared to the first three months of this year. Large-scale plants with an output of more than ten megawatts have not been built in Italy since July 2022. But in the second quarter of this year, the first new plants in this segment went online. In Piedmont and Puglia, for example, one generator each with an output of ten megawatts was built. A plant with an output of 36 megawatts was actually built in Sardinia. The market is picking up again, albeit slowly.
1.5 Million Mark in Sight
In Italy, almost 1.5 million solar plants are now connected to the grid. Specifically, there were a total of 1,423,986 solar generators in operation at the end of June 2023. The country cracked the one million mark in November 2021. Italia Solare expects to surpass the 1.5 million mark before the end of September.
Northern Italy in the lead
Regionally, Lombardy is currently in the lead. In the northern Italian region - one of the sunniest in Italy - photovoltaic systems with a total output of 3.58 gigawatts are now generating electricity. In Puglia, 3.18 gigawatts of solar power are currently installed. In Lombardy, the expansion is currently developing faster than in all other regions.
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After all, 429 megawatts were newly connected here in the first half of the year - far more than in Veneto, where it was 353 megawatts. Emilia Romagna was in third place with 235 megawatts of new installations. In Apulia, on the other hand, only 118 megawatts were newly connected to the grid. (su/mfo)
