Italy reached around 45 GW cumulative solar capacity with over 2.2 million systems installed by March 2026
Lombardy leads installations, accounting for 266 MW out of 1.439 GW installed during Q1 2026
Italia Solare says annual installations need to rise to 6 GW to 7 GW to meet the 79 GW target by 2030
Italy’s solar PV market expanded by 1.439 GW in Q1 2026, reaching nearly 45 GW of cumulative installed power at the end of the reporting period, according to Italian grid operator Terna’s Gaudì data, analyzed by industry body Italia Solare.
At the end of March 2026, Italy had over 2.2 million solar PV systems operational, representing a combined 44.95 GW. Geographically, Lombardy is at the top with over 6 GW installed capacity, followed by 4.5 GW in Veneto, and 4.2 GW in Lazio.
The top regions in Q1 2026 by installed capacity were Lombardy (266 MW), Veneto (178 MW), Piedmont (168 MW), Sicily (126 MW), and Puglia (100 MW).
During the initial 3 months of 2026, installations declined in January, especially for systems above 1 MW, before picking up pace in the following 2 months. However, the association sees an ‘increasingly polarized’ market in terms of new capacity distribution.
The residential sector with system capacities up to 20 kW is downsizing, having installed 313 MW during the reporting quarter, equal to approximately 22% of the quarterly total, and a 13% year-on-year (YoY) decline. The end of the Superbonus subsidy scheme has had its impact, as this segment stabilized to around an average of 300 MW/quarter, representing a 24% annual drop in 2025 (see Italy Adds Over 6 GW Solar PV In 2025 As Annual Growth Slows Down).
System sizes between 20 kW and 1 MW for the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment have seen sustained growth, up 24% annually. During the reporting quarter, this segment contributed approximately 39% of the quarterly volume with 566 MW. Yet the association does not see this segment accelerating strongly in the coming months.
Even the utility-scale segment (with 1 MW or higher capacity) represented approximately 39% of new quarterly additions, totaling 560 MW. The country installed 159 plants, showing strong growth of those above 10 MW. Yet, there was a 9% YoY decline in installed capacity.
Nonetheless, Italia Solare believes the country needs much more than 1.4 GW in quarterly additions to achieve 79 GW of cumulative target by 2030. It would require 6 GW to 7 GW of annual installations to achieve the target.
“In this first quarter, the data confirm the downward trend seen in 2025, and in any case, not the growth needed to reach the 79 GW target by 2030,” said Italia Solare President Paolo Rocco Viscontini. “What we expect in the coming months is a recovery, especially in the residential and C&I sectors, precisely in response to the rising energy costs.”
Italia Solare recently wrote to Terna seeking clarification on new grid connection rules for renewable projects under Article 7 of the DL Bollette. It calls for clearer and more consistent application of the rules, especially on connection overbooking, authorization procedures for medium-voltage projects, and the definition of ‘connections issued but not validated’.