Italy proposes policy changes: New FiT looms

Earlier this month, the two main bodies in the Italian renewable energy world, Gruppo Imprese Fotovoltaiche Italiane (GIFI), the Italian Photovoltaic Association, and Federazione Nazionale Imprese Elettrotecniche ed Elettroniche (ANIE), proposed a new set of Feed in Tariffs (FiT) for Italy, which are planned for 2011, according to a Barclays Solar report.

Adding to the list of countries that have recently made changes to PV incentive proposals, Italy has made the decision to lower the FiT rate depending on system size and type. The new proposal separates installations into two segments: Ground Mounted and Rooftop.

Within these two segments, installations are separated into five different categories depending on system size. The proposal lowers FiTs between 5% for the smallest installations and 30% for the largest installations.

The proposal states that the installations for the smallest rooftop and ground-mounted systems (ranging from 1-6kWp) would decline 5% vs 2010 feed in tariffs. For projects ranging from 6-20kWp, tariffs would decline by 7% from 2010 levels, and for 20-200kWp, tariffs would decline by 14%. Ground mounted systems tariffs for projects 200kWp to 1MW would decline by 16% while tariffs for rooftop projects would decline by 22.5%. For projects greater than 1MW, tariffs for ground mounted projects would decline by 30% while tariffs for rooftop projects would decline by 27% from 2010 feed in tariffs.

Similarly to France, Italy is placing emphasis on built in PV, as tariffs for BIPV systems are proposed to be 25% more than a non-BIPV equivalent project. A bonus is also proposed for projects located in non-ideal locations such as landfills. For these projects subsidies are proposed to be +10% of the project equivalent.

The proposal also includes a 5% annual reduction for the years 2012 to 2015, with a cap of 7GW of installations between 2011 and 2015. Under the proposal the FiT will be guaranteed for 20 years.

^{(Source: GIFI/ANIE)}