The Italian government has announced its net metering scheme will be limited to PV systems no greater than 200kW from 1 January 2013.
Revisions to the scheme, the government said, will simplify the procedure for granting net metering, although it admits that greater standardisation is required.
Net metering is used as an alternative to the feed-in tariff. This mechanism grants the owners of the system 'credits' to use towards their energy bills if excess energy they produce is fed back into the grid.
The government has been criticised for its apparent lack of strong support for the Italian solar industry.
In November, Italian solar manufacturer association Comitato Industrie Fotovoltaiche Italiane sent a statement to the government warning against the detrimental effects of Conto Energia V, which severely scaled back the support available for renewables in Italy.
At the close of 2012, the European Photovoltaic Association demanded the European Union take action against member states curtailing support to the renewables industry.
Now, according to media reports, Italian PV industry associations Gifi, Assosolare and Aper has asked for an expansion of the scheme to systems up to 1MW, which they say would have helped the Italian solar sector to grow in a difficult market situation.
