Industrial rooftop solar in Italy grows 60% in first half of the year

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Edp Energia Italia, which has been specialized in the installation of industrial rooftop photovoltaic systems in our country since 2019 and is the local branch of Portugal’s EDP, reached a total installed capacity of 52 MW in more than 300 locations in Italy in July, with a target of 58 MW in sales in 2024. One and a half years of acceleration has achieved the strength accumulated over the past five and a half years.

Growth of the industry

These figures correspond to the growth of the sector, despite a slight slowdown recently. According to Italia Solare calculations using Terna data, if the country’s new installed capacity in industrial and commercial plants in the first quarter of 2024 reaches 595 MW, a 106% jump compared to the same period in 2023 (289 MW), the installed capacity in the first half of the year will be 1,155 MW: an increase of 60% compared to 2023, and a decrease in the second quarter (560 MW) compared to the first quarter: -6%.

«Taking into account the slowdown caused by the waiting for the implementation decrees and the documents related to the transition 5.0 measures, in addition to the time needed to organize the works, commercial and industrial connections could see a drop in production from the fourth quarter of 2024 and whether this drop could be compensated by the commissioning of plants built under the second Parco Agrisolare tender,» commented Italia Solare. The industrial sector remains an important one for PV penetration: of the 3.34 GW installed in Italy in the first six months of 2024, the industrial sector accounted for 35%, while the utility sector accounted for 36% and the residential sector for 29%.

Italy has huge market potential

“Italy remains one of the most advanced countries in terms of competition and regulation and it remains a market with great potential”, explains Andrea Casartelli, Country Manager of Edp Energia Italia, which currently employs 65 people: “We currently have a 130 MW pipeline in Italy. Distributed solar generation is expected to account for 50% of global solar growth over the next five years. Companies therefore play a vital role in accelerating the energy transition by decentralizing energy production, for example by installing PV systems on rooftops or in the surrounding areas. This also takes into account the negative trend in the residential market after the 110% bonus effect.”

As-a-Service Solutions

Today, the company has 150 MW of solar power projects signed with Italian companies. The total includes new turnkey creations and innovative solutions: «An example is the model As a Servicewhere the EDP covers the initial investment, maintenance and monitoring of the solar system, while the customer pays according to his production or consumption: 70% of the contracts are currently like this”, explains Casartelli: “For the future, we are studying SELES. There is a huge potential for extensive self-consumption, especially in the regions that make up Italy’s industrial structure. Overall, it is a growing market. Our goal in Italy is to achieve sales of 65-70 MW of power plants per year. “Among the possible solutions is the marketing of long-term power purchase agreements in collaboration with sister company Edpr Italia, which develops, builds and manages a portfolio of renewable energy plants such as solar and wind.