Independent power producer (IPP) Aquila Clean Energy has started construction on a 52MW agrivoltaics (agriPV) project in Italy.
Located in Catania, in the southern Italian region of Sicily, the agriPV plant is targeted to be completed in March 2026.
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Covering an area of about 100 hectares, the project combines power generation and agriculture. Crops will include olives trees, aromatic herbs and cultivars like garlic, celery, parsley, several types of salad, spinach and legumins.
“This is our first project to have reached the construction phase in Italy,” said Alberto Arcioli, head of development at Aquila Clean Energy Italy.
This news comes against the backdrop of the Italian government introducing a nationwide ban on ground-mounted solar PV installations on agricultural land last year. In May 2024, the government announced the ban in a bid to protect farmland and curb what officials described as unchecked solar development.
Despite that ban, the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE) launched a new agriPV tender to boost project development in April this year. Managed by the national energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), the tender would distribute €323 million (US$349 million) to support agriPV initiatives.
Additionally, MASE issued the “suitable areas” decree in June 2024, outlining guidelines for identifying land appropriate for ground-mounted renewable energy installations. The decree granted regional authorities the power to establish their own regulations, however, the decree was partially annulled by an Italian court earlier this month. In its ruling, the Regional Administrative Court in Lazio also questioned the constitutionality of the DL Agricoltura, which banned ground-mounted solar PV installations on agricultural land.
Furthermore, Italy saw a 16% year-on-year drop in new solar PV installations in Q1 2025, adding 1.4GW, according to trade association Italia Solare. Utility-scale projects contributed nearly half of this with 684MW – up from 553MW in Q1 2024 – indicating a rise in average project size.
The country’s total installed solar capacity stands at 38.5GW at the end of March 2025, with the commercial and industrial segment leading at 17.5GW (45%), followed by residential at 10.7GW (28%) and utility-scale at 10.3GW (27%).
