Only one per cent of land in Italy is suitable for ground-mounted PV without limitations, says McKinsey

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Land availability is primarily affected by the regulations set in place in each European country. Image: Michael Förtsch on Unsplash.

Only one per cent of land in Italy is suitable for ground-mounted solar PV projects without limitations, according to analysis company McKinsey.

In its new report Land: A crucial resource for the energy transition, McKinsey looked at the land restrictions for EU countries – with the cases of Germany’s onshore wind and Italy’s solar PV – in order to add all the renewables capacity targeted in the REPowerEU strategy, which is set at 600GW by 2030 for solar PV alone.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

France, Germany and Italy alone – who would represent nearly half of the EU’s renewables installations by 2030 – could require an additional 23,000 to 35,000 square kilometres of land. This is nearly the size of Belgium.

What affects the most land availability in Europe is due to regulations, which can even vary within a country as some of the rules are established at a regional level.

In Italy’s case, land available for solar PV is restricted due to regulatory limitations on the use of cropland, which accounts for almost a third of the total land area and 80% of the total available land after technical constraints.

Chart: McKinsey.

For the country to add 63GW of new solar capacity by 2040 it would require up to 85% of available land, according to McKinsey. A solution to reduce the restrictions on solar PV would be the increased share of land for crops and solar PV, such as agrivoltaics.

“Increasing the European Union’s RES [renewable energy sources] capacity at the rate needed to achieve its stated objectives will require substantial amounts of land throughout the region, which could be limited in some countries,” says the report.

Read Next

October 1, 2025
Italy has released the results of its latest solar auction, which includes 273 expressions of interest for a combined capacity of 3,161MW.
September 30, 2025
US solar developer Sol Systems has completed construction on a 342MW PV project in the state of Illinois.
September 24, 2025
Spanish IPP Sonnedix has acquired five solar projects in Sicily and Lazio, Italy, with a combined capacity of 226MW.
September 15, 2025
Italy’s latest renewable energy tender has received 12GW of bids, of which the majority, 10GW, came from solar PV.
September 11, 2025
The absence of negative pricing in Italy undermines the case for co-located solar storage, the co-founder of Italian IPP Terrawatt has said.
Premium
September 10, 2025
PV Talk: Italy’s new CfD policy offers clear support for solar developers in an otherwise uncertain legislative landscape, says Terrawatt's Patrizio Donati.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK