Italy has allocated 975MW of solar PV and wind capacity in its seventh renewables auction, according to figures from energy management agency GSE.
That allocation corresponds to the segment for projects with a capacity of more than 1MW, with 59 solar plants and 18 onshore wind farms successful.
Among the bidders securing solar capacity are Italian utility Enel, Polish solar developer R.Power and German EPC contractor juwi.
Following publication of the results, GSE has today launched Italy’s eighth renewables auction, which will allocate 3.3GW of capacity not assigned in previous tenders. That round will close on 2 March 2022, with the results due to be released by 31 May.
Under Italy’s auction scheme, solar plants do not have permission to build on agricultural land, meaning the tenders have been largely undersubscribed among PV bidders, according to recent research from SolarPower Europe. The trade body said stringent permitting restrictions pose a major challenge to the country’s solar ambitions, generating up to six years of delay to project development.
Amid a backlog of projects looking to secure permitting and interconnection rights, solar power purchase agreement prices soared in the country in Q4 2021.