Italy, through its renewables utility, Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), has launched a tender to procure 4,825 MW of new renewable energy capacity. This is the utility’s 7th procurement round for renewable energy.
The tender which opened today calls for bids of over 3,312 MW in wind and solar photovoltaic projects through an auction system and around 260 MW will be awarded through registers, bringing the total wind and solar capacity to be procured in this round to just over 3,572 MW.
The tender also provides for the procurement of about 104 MW of hydroelectricity through auctions, and 20 MW through registers, bringing the total capacity to 124 MW. Included in the tender is also provisions for the refurbishment of GSE’s existing wind and hydroelectric plants.
Interested companies have to submit their bids by the 30th of October 2021 and the bid winners will be announced by January 28, 2022.
Renewables on the up in Italy
Solar and wind capacity is set to rise dramatically in Italy over the next 10 years as the government invests in new grid infrastructure and streamline approval processes for projects. The European nation has around 22.4 GW of solar energy capacity and targets to have an installed solar energy capacity of 50 GW by 2030.
Italy must accelerate solar and wind deployment to meet the renewable energy targets set out in its National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC). The country has pledged to increase the share of renewables to 55% of power generation by 2030 and to meet this aim, Italy must install 3 GW of solar capacity per year.
To speed up deployment, the government plans to implement a new Simplification Decree that removes permitting bottlenecks while national grid operator Terna will invest a record 18.1 billion euros ($21.5 billion) over the next 10 years to improve transmission links. Terna’s investments will strengthen the power links between the south of Italy, where renewable energy is set to grow rapidly, and the north, where power demand is higher.
The south of Italy benefits from stronger solar resources and more land availability than in the north but permitting issues are severely hampering projects. Developers often face around six years of delays in permitting and around half of all projects are abandoned, according to industry associations SolarPower Europe and WindEurope.
The Simplification Decree aims to speed up environmental assessments by allowing the central government to fast-track authorisations. It also simplifies the approval process for repowering solar and wind sites with new technology.
