Italy Signs € 1.5 Billion Support for Rooftop Solar in Agriculture Sector

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies of Italy, Stefano Patuanelli has signed a new rebate scheme under which € 1.5-billion worth support will be given to the country’s agricultural sector for installing rooftop solar. This is distinct from Agrivoltaics, which involve a more integrated approach of combining solar power installations with agriculture.

The financial details of the rooftop solar support are yet disclosed. “The aim of the measure is to support investments for the construction of photovoltaic systems on buildings for productive use in the agricultural, livestock and agro-industrial sectors,” said the Italian government.

It has been said that the funds for the rooftop projects will be drawn from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Post Covid-19 Recovery Plan) of Italy. As per the government around 40% of the resources will be devoted to financing projects in the southern regions of Italy: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily.

The scheme will support rooftop solar PV installations of 375 MW specifically in the agriculture sector. As per the notification the agro-industrial sites will also be eligible to take benefits of the scheme. Redevelopment and modernization costs will also be covered. Insulation, which would contribute to better conditions for livestock, too will be a part of the support scheme. Government says that energy diversification will also help reduce power bills of the companies operating in agri-businesses.

The government adds that first the European Commission will be notified about the project. It will be followed by a tender calling for bids for projects. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Italy has provisions of €2.2 billion for energy communities and €1.1 billion for agrivoltaics.

According to the International Trade Association (ITA), Italy has earmarked €56 billion to incentivize the renewable sector between 2021 and 2026. At the end of 2020, Italy had reached 56 GW of renewable energy generation of which solar PV installations had the highest share – 21.5 GW, followed by hydroelectric and wind energy.

In early March, the Italy had brought new provision in the ‘DL Energia Decree’ which simplified permits for rooftop solar installations between 50KW and 200KW for net metering. It also gives rebates to MSME enterprises that build PV systems for their self-use.