Italy releases decree to incentivise 1 GW of agrivoltaic projects

The Italian government on Tuesday published a decree that will pave the way for providing EUR 1.7 billion (USD 1.82bn) worth of incentives for the construction of 1.04 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects combined with agricultural activities.

The targeted capacity is planned to become operational by the end of June 2026.

The new regulations envisage the provision of direct grants financed by Italy’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) that will cover a maximum of 40% of the eligible investment costs. Tariffs will also be available based on the share of net electricity injected into the grid from the PV arrays. Those tariffs will come as two-way 20-year contracts for difference (CfDs) that will be awarded through competitive bidding and will cover the difference between the incentive tariffs and the energy prices.

The rules that will authorise the methods and timing for disbursing the funding are due to be approved by the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) in the next 15 days. Within 30 days afterward, a CfD tender will be held.

Of the total 1-GW basket to be supported, around 300 MW of capacity will be available to projects of up to 1 MW in size and proposed by agricultural entrepreneurs. The remaining 740 MW of capacity will be reserved for solar PV systems of any size that will be installed by farmers or temporary business associations that include at least one agricultural entrepreneur.

Italy received the European Commission’s (EC) nod to carry out the state aid scheme last November.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.071)

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