Italy Installed 259 MW New Solar Capacity In H1/2020

• In H1/2020, Italy added 259 MW of new PV capacity growing 12% more than 231 MW installed last year
• From 115 MW in Q1/2020 to 143.4 MW in Q2/2020, the country was on a path of recovery from the impacts of the pandemic
• The regions of Campania, Liguria, Marche, Molise and Sicily witnessed maximum new addition during the reporting period

Between January 2020 and June 2020, Italy saw 259 MW of new solar PV capacity installed in the country, registering annual growth of 12% over 231 MW added last year, said Italian renewable energy association, Anie Rinnovabili. In comparison, there was 39% less renewable energy capacity additions during the same period with 339 MW installed.

While hydroelectric power capacity grew 62%, wind power installations declined by as much as 86%.

The annual growth of solar PV was due to higher installations in the months of May 2020 (69 MW – including a 3 MW project in Marche region) and June 2020 (71.6 MW), after adding only 2.7 MW in April 2020. It shows the market slowly recovered from the impacts of lockdown earlier this year due to COVID-19, according to the association. During Q2/2020, the PV additions were a total of 143.4 MW, and in the previous quarter it added up to 115.4 MW (see Italy Installed 115 MW PV In Q1/2020).

The largest uptake of solar PV was seen in the regions of Campania, Liguria, Marche, Molise and Sicily, whereas there was a drop in installations in Sardinia, Toscana and Valle d'Aosta. During H1/2020, 42% capacity was installed in the form of systems below 20 kW capacity while 67% came from new installations equal to or more than 10 kW.

Anie Rinnovabili maintains that for Italy to meet its renewable energy goals by the target year of 2030, it needs to deploy 330 MW on a monthly basis. Under its National Integrated Plan for Climate and Energy 2030, Italy aims to have 50 GW of solar PV capacity while the wind power target is 18.4 GW.

The association pointed at the 'disappointing' outcome of the 2^nd renewable energy auction where solar secured only 19.3 MW and wind won by far the  biggest chunk of 425 MW. Moreover, not all of the 500 MW on offer were actually awarded (see Only 19 MW To PV In Italian 500 MW Auction). During the 1^st renewable energy auction, wind power also scored over solar winning 495 MW out of 500 MW auctioned (see Dismal Results For Solar In Italian RE Auction).

Between May 31, 2020 and Till June 30, 2020, Italy was accepting registrations for its 3^rd renewable energy auction.