Italy Adds Only 259MW PV In First 8 Months Of 2018

• Italian renewable energy association Anie Rinnovabili says the country installed 258.6 MW PV during first eight months of 2018
• This is a drop of 11% over same period last year when installations reached 291 MW
• System sizes up to 20 kW capacity dominate
• Country inching toward 20 GW milestone of total PV installed capacity

Italy had its highest PV installation month in 2018 in August 2018 when it installed 38.7 MW, bringing the total installed capacity during first 8 months of the year to only 258.6 MW. While August 2018 installations meant a 47% growth over last year's numbers, the country's solar performance has been very bad this year so far.

Overall PV deployment between January 2018 to August 2018 over last year dropped by 11% from 291 MW, even though it increased 14% the year before, according to Italian renewable energy association Anie Rinnovabili that uses provisional numbers from the country's grid operator Terna.

Most of the capacity, 48.7 MW, came from system sizes of up to 20 kW range. The region of Lazio added the maximum capacity of 79.5 MW in 2017, while in the current year, Lombardia stands first so far with 42.7 MW installed.

At the end of the first six months of 2018, Italian PV capacity addition decreased 18% to 191 MW as no large-scale plants were deployed (see Italy Added 191 MW PV In H1/2018). Back then, the cumulative installed PV capacity of the country was around 19.79 GW. Add up the numbers from July and August 2018 and you get 19.85 MW, Italy is inching closer to the 20 GW milestone, which might be met by the end of the year.

Now there's hope that Italy's new government will back solar. It is reportedly planning incentives of up to €900 million ($1.04 billion) in its draft decree for renewable energy installations of 6 GW capacity (see €900mn For New RES Installations In Italy By 2020).