Italy’s solar PV installations in 2023 grew by over 110%, according to local PV association Italia Solare. With 5.23 GW new capacity installed last year, Italy expanded its cumulative capacity to 30.28 GW. 

It is an improvement over the 2.48 GW installed in 2022 and 940 MW in 2021. The last time Italy was an annual GW-scale market was in 2013 when it installed 1.39 GW. However, the highest annual total to date was in 2011 when it commissioned 9.46 GW. 

The residential segment leads the tally, accounting for 43% of all installations in 2023 with 2.26 GW reflecting an annual growth of 83%. The commercial and industrial (C&I) segment grew by 168% annually, with 1.82 GW new capacity. The utility-scale segment also improved by 103% year-on-year (YoY) with 1.16 GW. 

Altogether, system sizes of under 20 kW in the residential segment account for 28% or 8.56 GW of the aggregate, while the C&I segment holds a 50% share or 15.14 GW with system sizes ranging within 20 kW to 1 MW. 

Large-scale projects with more than 1 MW installed capacity representing a combined 6.57 GW make up 22% of the total. During 2023, 12 utility-scale projects were commissioned with a total 471 MW capacity. Of these, 8 PV projects with 341 MW combined capacity came online in Q4, including 227 MW in December 2023. 

While the Superbonus subsidy scheme for energy efficiency work by households is a major contributor to this annual increase, the trade body cites the increase in energy prices as the inspiration for C&I segment’s annual growth. From 56 MW in 2022, this segment increased installations to 120 MW in H1/2023 and added around 180 MW in H2/2023. 

“The increase in energy prices has had an important effect on the connections of industrial photovoltaic systems on average with a gap of 6-9 months, this hysteresis is due to the time lapse between the request for offers and the realization of the project,” according to the President of Italia Solare Paolo Rocco Viscontini. “However, a trend that did not stop when energy prices began to fall again and this is due to the fact that companies have well understood the advantages of photovoltaics, which allows them to ensure the price of energy for at least 20 years, protecting companies from any risk of further surges.” 

Lombardy region led 2023 installations with 907 MW, crossing the threshold of 4 GW cumulative. Veneto and Emilia Romagna follow with over 3 GW total capacity each. 

Recently, the Italian Energy Security Ministry published a decree to confirm support for 1.04 GW agrivoltaic capacity (see Italy Publishes Decree For Agrivoltaic Deployment).