Italian minister fears feed-in tariff fraud

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

A sudden rise in the number of solar power installations in Italy is being investigated by the government over fears of feed-in tariff (FiT) fraud, according to Industry Minister Paolo Romani. Around 55,000 requests for government incentives covering projects with a total capacity of 4,000MW were received by GSE, the state energy services agency, as developers rushed to sign up before FiT rates expired at the end of 2010.

“As we feared, cases of real fraud have emerged,” Romani said in a letter to newspaper Corriere della Sera. “It's an abnormal acceleration. Controls have started immediately.”

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

In 2007, generous government subsidies were introduced in Italy and since then the solar sector has experienced considerable growth – it is now Europe's third-largest PV market. However, because of falling module prices, this year the FiT has been cut, which led to the large number of subsidy applications before the 2010 cut-off date.

This sudden surge in project proposals has raised eyebrows among ministers in Rome, particularly when discrepancies emerged regarding project sizes; one 8MW industrial-sized project application in Italy’s solar heartland of Puglia transpired to be a 40kW domestic installation.

As a result of this and other fraudulent claims, Romani revealed that government incentives would no longer be handed out at the last minute or before thorough inspections and controls have been carried out.

Read Next

Premium
July 15, 2025
Virtual power plants are emerging as a potentially critical means of meeting the growing power demands from data centres in the US.
July 15, 2025
D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) has started construction at a 150MW solar-plus-storage project in the US state of New Mexico.
July 15, 2025
The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has initiated an investigation into the imports of polysilicon and its derivatives.
July 15, 2025
Indian renewable energy company SAEL Industries is developing a 5GW solar cell and 5GW module manufacturing facility in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
July 15, 2025
Greater policy clarity will be needed if Germany is realise its FPV potential, according to a report from Fraunhofer ISE.
July 15, 2025
Poland has awarded 1.6GW of solar PV in this year’s renewable energy auction, according to the country’s Energy Regulatory Office.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK