Italy: New installed photovoltaic capacity of 6.79GW by 2024

Recently, the Italian Solar Photovoltaic Association, Italia Solare, announced that the Italian solar photovoltaic market will grow by 30% year-on-year in 2024, with an added installed capacity of 6.79 GW. Italy's cumulative installed capacity is 37.08 GW, with nearly 1.9 GW added in the fourth quarter of last year.

The total number of photovoltaic systems currently online in Italy is 1878780, but by 2024, their number has decreased by 25%, with a new installation of 283914.

The biggest contributor to last year's new projects was the segmented market of utility scale, including power projects with a capacity of 1MW or higher. It increased by 163% year-on-year, adding 3.045 GW. Most projects have achieved grid connection during the second half of 2024.

The annual growth rate of solar system capacity in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector between 20kW and 1MW is 8%, with a total capacity of 1.96GW.

Finally, the residential portion of the less than 20kW system decreased by 21% year-on-year to 1.78GW, which the association attributed to the end of the country's Superbonus program.

Paolo Rocco Viscontini, President of Italia Solare, stated that "Italian photovoltaics are undergoing a steady growth phase, with the increasing role of large-scale systems. However, the decline in residential installations is a signal that cannot be underestimated: targeted measures need to be taken to support households in their energy transition.

In terms of cumulative installed capacity based on geographical distribution, Lombardy leads with 4.99GW, mainly driven by C&I systems with power ranging from 200kW to 1MW. The Veneto region follows closely with 3.76GW and Puglia with 3.63GW. There are numerous large solar power plants in the Lazio region, with a new installed capacity of 1.28 gigawatts in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 300%.

Despite obvious challenges, the association believes that the market is still progressing. The report suggests that the government promote self use in residential and commercial sectors, accelerate the licensing process for new projects, and improve network management to avoid grid bottlenecks for large power plants.