The Italian government is studying a reduction in incentives for future photovoltaic (PV) sites. The review is due to be applied for sites coming on line from 1 July this year, putting an end to the current regime introduced on 1 June 2011 and scheduled to last until the end of 2016.
According to a draft proposal made by the industry ministry, incentives for ordinary rooftop sites could reach a maximum of €170/MWh for facilities of 1-3kW and a minimum of €128/MWh for installations of more than 5MW between 1 July and 31 December 2012. The tariffs would vary from €121-162/MWh for ground sites. Premiums ranging from a maximum of €88/MWh for the smallest rooftop sites to a minimum of €39/MWh for the largest ground sites will be added to the base price for electricity consumed by the producer and not dispatched to the grid.
The proposals represent a reduction of 9-32.5pc compared with the tariffs scheduled in the second half of the year under the current regime. The sharpest decline concerns electricity sold on the market by small rooftop sites. Large ground facilities are the least affected by the review.
The tariffs will be reduced every six months until 2014. In the second half of 2014, the tariff for electricity sold to the grid will reach a maximum of €128/MWh for small rooftop sites and a minimum of €102/MWh for large ground facilities. The premium for self-consumption will be €20-46/MWh.
Higher incentives will be applied during the period for PV facilities using innovative and concentrated technologies.
The industry ministry aims to limit the incentive outlay at €100mn per semester until the end of 2014, representing a total of €500mn over the tariff period.
Associations representing the PV industry have asked to meet the government to discuss any changes to the tariffs. They noted that the proposal would be the third tariff reform in less than 18 months. The move could harm the industry and jeopardise investments, they added.
The government, which is also reviewing incentives for other renewable energy, indicated that renewable power facilities already have the capacity to produce about 94 TWh/yr compared with the government's target of 100 TWh/yr set for 2020. Last year, Italy's electricity consumption reached 332.3TWh, according to preliminary data released by grid operator Terna.
The government added that subsidies to support renewable power have reached about €9bn/yr, of which nearly €6bn/yr is for PV, and that is without strict rules to limit the increase in capacity the outlay risks to increase significantly. Authorised renewable energy projects total 9GW, it said.