Italy receives 10GW of solar PV bids in FER X auction, opens second auction

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The second auction seeks PV projects with solar cells, modules and inverters not originating from China. Image: Michael Förtsch on Unsplash

Italy’s latest renewable energy tender has received 12GW of bids, of which the majority, 10GW, came from solar PV.

Held by Italy’s energy management agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), this is the first auction under the transitional FER X decree, which seeks to attract renewables under a Contract for Difference. The government unveiled in July 2025 that it had received over 1,300 expressions of interest for solar PV with a combined 17.5GW of capacity.

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For comparison, the previous tenders, before the FER X decree, ended up awarding 278.5MW and 321.6MW of solar PV, respectively.

“The result of this first round confirms the strong interest of operators towards renewables and the solidity of the regulatory framework we have built,” said the Italian Minister of Energy, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin.

The government set a threshold of up to 8GW available for solar PV to be awarded in the auction, while the minimum threshold is set at 600MW. The strike price for the auction has been set at €76.369/MWh (US$89.3/MWh), with a maximum and minimum strike price of €90.689/MWh and €62.05/MWh, respectively.

In a conversation with PV Tech Premium last week, Patrizio Donati, co-founder and managing director at independent power producer, Terrawatt, told PV Tech that he was optimistic about the FER X decree and said it was a “great example” of how the government can help support the development of renewables in Italy. On top of covering the FER X decree, Donati also spoke about the suitable areas decree and how companies are navigating through the legislative hurdles affecting the Italian market.

Final results of the first FER X auction will be published on 11 December 2025.

Second auction opens tomorrow

Moreover, the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security recently updated the operating rules (in Italian) for the second auction under the FER X decree. This other auction is based on the provisions of the European Union’s Net Zero Industry Act, which aims to diversify the supply chain of solar products, mainly of Chinese origin.

This auction seeks to promote PV projects which use non-Chinese-made solar cells, modules and inverters and at least one other component of a solar system (i.e. tracker, solar glass or foundation). This second tender seeks up to 1.6GW of solar PV capacity, with a minimum of 200MW allocated.

Expressions of interest will be open from 16 September 2025 until 26 September 2025. Details for the auction can be accessed here (in Italian).

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