Italy's photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity showed a strong growth of 111% in 2023!.Will it become the next "2012"?

[From GUANGCHUXINGQIU]

According to the latest release by Italy's electricity grid operator, Terna, Italy's photovoltaic market added 5.2 GW of installed capacity in 2023, representing a growth of 111% compared to 2022. As of the end of December 2023, Italy had a total of 1.6 million photovoltaic systems with a cumulative capacity of 30.2 GW.

Of the total 5.2 GW of newly installed capacity, residential rooftop photovoltaic installations accounted for 2.2 GW, representing 42% of the overall new photovoltaic installations. Additionally, commercial and industrial photovoltaic installations accounted for 49% of the total, while large-scale ground-mounted solar power plants (greater than 10 MW) accounted for 8%.

Among them, the highest growth rate was observed in the installation capacity range of 20 kW to 200 kW and 200 kW to 1 MW, both experiencing a 168% increase compared to 2022. Residential rooftop photovoltaic installations (less than 12 kW) grew by 79%, while photovoltaic systems with an installation capacity between 12 kW and 20 kW increased by 121%.

From a monthly perspective, Italy installed 724 MW of photovoltaic capacity in December 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, Italy added a total of 1,686 MW of new photovoltaic generation capacity, showing a growth of 38% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

In 2023, photovoltaic systems with an installation capacity between 1 kW and 20 kW accounted for 96% of the total number of newly installed systems and 43% of the total installed capacity. The installation of this particular specification of photovoltaic systems was largely influenced by the superbonus subsidy program.

Additionally, when ranking the installed capacity by region, 11 regions surpassed the GW mark. Lombardy took the lead with a capacity exceeding 4 GW, followed by Puglia, Veneto, and Emilia Romagna.

Italy experienced a prolonged slump in photovoltaic installations after the end of subsidies in 2012, which continued until the emergence of the superbonus subsidy after the COVID-19 pandemic. This subsidy program has once again stimulated high growth in photovoltaic installations. According to the targets set by the nuovo Pniec, Italy will need at least 79-80 GW of photovoltaic power by 2030. Qual Energia has speculated on the annual new installation capacity of photovoltaic systems required to achieve this goal.

However, relying solely on subsidy-driven policies can result in temporary market surges and should be approached as a supplementary measure rather than the main strategy. Let's hope that 2023 does not become the next 2012, which was characterized by a boom and subsequent decline in the photovoltaic sector.