Only 19MW To PV in Italian 500MW Auction

Italy’s second renewable energy auction with 500 MW capacity on offer finally selected total wind and solar PV capacity of 425 MW. Solar had to give way to wind power that secured 406 MW accounting for 96% of the total awarded, leaving solar with 19.3 MW.

London based Argus Media referred to auction results released by Italian energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) saying wind won 18 projects and solar won 4 projects.

The ceiling tariff for both wind and solar power technologies under this auction was €70 ($78) per MWh. The lowest winning tariff was secured by a 5.8 MW solar power plant in Sardinia with €56 ($63) per MWh, and the highest winning range was determined as €68 ($76) per MWh for a 12.6 MW wind farm in Apulia.

In the first renewable energy auction of Italy concluded in January 2020, solar won a mere 5 MW out of 500 MW awarded while wind bagged the rest 495 MW. The sole winner of the 5 MW capacity was Solar Italy IX (see Dismal Results For Solar In Italian RE Auction).

The above auction was held between January 31, 2020 to March 1, 2020. The next round, the third renewable energy auction of Italy has been announced with registrations being accepted with effect from May 31, 2020 – and submission will be accepted till June 30, 2020. Details are available on GSE website.

These auctions are part of the country’s renewable incentive schemes that was approved by the European Union (EU) in June 2019 (see EU Approves Italy’s Renewable Energy Scheme). The government plans to contract around 4.8 GW of new renewable energy generation capacity through 7 bidding rounds between 2019 and 2021.