Italy’s renewable energy sector is currently expanding with the inclusion of new renewable projects. In September and October, 2.8 GW advanced through environmental processing.

According to an analysis by Energía Estratégica España, 34 projects progressed in environmental processing between September and October this year, totaling 2,837.7 MW.

Of the total, 1,079.4 MW correspond to agrivoltaic ventures, 1,005 MW from offshore wind energy, 599.6 MW from onshore wind energy, and only 153.7 MW from photovoltaic solar energy.

This trend highlights the Italian government’s interest in promoting agrivoltaic technology and integrating agricultural production with solar energy generation, optimizing land use. The projects vary in size, from 11.55 MW to 194.1 MW, reflecting the flexibility of the technology.

It is worth noting that the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) of Italy approved the operational guidelines for the Agrivoltaic Decree, which contains provisions to incentivize such systems, such as auctions.

Furthermore, on July 15, the guidelines for installing agrivoltaic systems were approved, defining the conditions for different agricultural zones. This measure prohibits the installation of photovoltaic solar panels directly on productive agricultural land.

Most of the projects are in the “administrative verification” phase, meaning they have not yet moved on to the construction stage.

While many projects are advancing in the environmental processing stage at MASE, the renewable sector believes that more power installations need to be promoted.

It is important to recall that Italy’s National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) aims to reach an installed capacity of 131 GW from renewable energy sources (RES) by 2030, of which 80 GW are expected to be from photovoltaic solar, 28 GW from wind, 19 GW from hydropower, 3 GW from bioenergy, and 1 GW from geothermal sources.

Elettricita Futura points out that to meet the PNIEC target, 73 new GW need to be installed before 2030, which means integrating around 10 GW per year. “At the current installation pace, we would achieve less than half of the PNIEC target by 2030: at this pace, it would take more than 20 years to reach the +73 GW target,” they emphasize.

Project and company analysis

Among the projects, the “Tramontana” offshore wind farm stands out with a capacity of 1,005 MW, driven by the company “Parco Eolico Flottante Tramontana S.r.l.”

This is a floating offshore wind farm in the southern Adriatic Sea, composed of 67 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 15 MW, for a total plant capacity of 1,005 MW. It will be built off the coast of Apulia.

The second largest project is the agrivoltaic park “Garaguso,” with an installed capacity of 194.1 MW, promoted by Solaria. It will be built in the municipalities of Craco (MT) and Ferrandina (MT), with connection works also in Salandra (MT) and San Mauro Forte (MT).

In third place is the agrivoltaic park PV Borgo Schiró with 134.9 MW, promoted by Dren Solare 16 SRL.

Other notable companies in the processing of renewable projects include RWE with the Caltanissetta 2 photovoltaic park, with an installed capacity of 99 MW, and AREN Green with two wind installations totaling 96 MW.

As for the location of renewable installations, southern Italy leads, with the regions of Apulia and Basilicata concentrating the largest share of renewable power, followed by Sicily, Lazio, and Campania.

Project list