Solar power in Italy
Solar power in Italy has been increasing rapidly in recent years with the country ranking among the world’s largest producers of electricity from solar power. Installed photovoltaic nameplate capacity has increased nearly 15-fold from 2009 to 2013 and 2013's year-end capacity of 17,928 MW ranks third in the world.[1] Solar power accounted for 7% of the electricity generated in Italy during 2013 (ranked 1st in the world), a share that's expected to double by 2030.[2][3]
As of December 2013, the installed capacity is approaching 18 GW, with a production so important that several gas turbine power plants currently operate at half their potential during the day. The sector provides employment to about 100,000 people, especially in design and installation.[4]
The Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station is the largest photovoltaic power station in Italy, in Montalto di Castro in Viterbo province. The project was built in several phases. The first phase with a total capacity of 24 MW was connected in late 2009. The second phase (8 MW) was commissioned in 2010, and the third and fourth phases, totaling 44 MW, were completed in December 2010, bringing the total to 85 MW.[5]
Contents
Photovoltaics[edit]
As of the end of 2010, there were 155,977 solar PV plants, with a total capacity of 3,469.9 MW.[6]:24 At the end of 2011, there were 330,196 installations, totaling 12,773 MW.[7] The number of plants and the total capacity surged between 2009 and 2011 following high incentives from Conto Energia. The total power capacity installed tripled and plants installed doubled in 2010 compared to 2009, with an increase of plant's average dimensions.[6]:24 The increase was even greater in 2011.[8]
Energy production from photovoltaics was 1,905.7 GWh in 2010, and 18,800 GWh in 2012.[7]:20[9] Annual growth rates were fast in recent years: 251% in 2009, 182% in 2010, and 466% in 2011.[6]:30 More than a fifth of the total production in 2010 came from the southern region of Apulia.[6]:30 In 2011, 20% came from Apulia, followed by 10% from Emilia-Romagna.[7] Italy added an estimated 3.4 GW of capacity in 2012.[10]
The annual energy production from solar PV in Italy ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 kWh per installed kWp.[6]:23 A 2013 report by Deutsche Bank concluded that solar power has already reached grid parity in Italy.[11]
| Year | Capacity (MWp) |
Growth | Generation (GWh) |
Generation % |
Consumption % |
Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 37 | |||||
| 2007 | 87 | 108% | ||||
| 2008 | 432 | 397% | 200 | 0.1% | ||
| 2009 | 1,144 | 165% | 677 | 0.24% | 0.21% | [12] |
| 2010 | 3,470 | 203% | 1,874 | 0.64% | 0.57% | [12][13] |
| 2011 | 12,783 | 268% | 10,668 | 3.7% | 3.2% | [7][13][14] |
| 2012 | 16,479 | 29% | 18,631 | 6.5% | 5.7% | [9][15][16] |
| 2013 | 18,074 | 9.7% | 21,229 | 7.0% | 6.7% | [17][18][19] |
| 2014 | 18,460 | 2.1% | 23,299 | 8.7% | 7.5% | [20][21] |
Largest PV power plants[edit]
| Name of Plant | Peak capacity (MW) |
Production (GWh/year) |
Capacity factor (%) |
Start of operation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station | 84.2[23] | 19[24] | 2009-2010 | |
| Rovigo Photovoltaic Power Plant | 70.6 | -- | -- | 2010 |
| Serenissima Solar Park | 48 | -- | -- | 2011 |
| Cellino San Marco Solar Park | 43 | 56 | 14.9 | 2010 |
| Alfonsine Solar Park | 36.2 | -- | -- | 2010 |
| Sant'Alberto Solar Park | 34.6 | -- | -- | 2010 |
| Su-Scioffu Greenhouse PV Park | 20.0 | -- | -- | 2011 |
| Anguillara PV power plant | 15 | -- | -- | 2010 |
| Priolo PV power plant | 13.5 | -- | -- | 2010 |
| Loreo PV power plant | 12.6 | -- | -- | 2010 |
| Craco PV power plant | 12 | -- | -- | 2010 |
| Manzano PV power plant | 11 | -- | -- | 2010 |
| Gamascia PV power plant[25] | 9.7 | -- | -- | 2010 |
| Ragusa PV power plant | 8.4 | -- | -- | 2010 |
Concentrated solar power[edit]
The 5 MW Archimede solar power plant is a concentrated solar power plant at Priolo Gargallo near Syracuse. The plant was inaugurated on 14 July 2010.[26][27][28] It is the first concentrated solar power plant to use molten salt for heat transfer and storage which is integrated with a combined-cycle gas facility.[26][28][29][30]
There is considerable academic and commercial interest internationally in a new form of CSP, called STEM, for off-grid applications to produce 24-hour industrial scale power for mining sites and remote communities in Italy, other parts of Europe, Australia, Asia, North Africa and Latin America. STEM uses fluidized silica sand as a thermal storage and heat transfer medium for CSP systems. It has been developed by Salerno based Magaldi Industries. The first commercial application of STEM will take place in Sicily from 2015.[31]
Companies[edit]
Major Italian solar companies include:
- Helios Technology
See also[edit]
- Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change
- Deployment of solar power to energy grids
- List of renewable energy topics by country
- Renewable energy in Italy
- Solar power in the European Union
References[edit]
- ^ "Cumulative Installed Solar Photovoltaics Capacity in Leading Countries and the World, 2000-2013". Earth Policy Center. June 18, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ^ Andy Colthorpe (January 10, 2014). "PV provided 7% of Italy’s electricity in 2013, says transmission operator". PV-Tech.org. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ^ "Renewable the star player in Italy". Datamonitor Energy. July 16, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
- ^ Il fotovoltaico in Italia ha una potenza di 17 GW e dà lavoro a 100mila. Quale futuro senza incentivi?
- ^ eXenewable Project Profile Page - Monalto di Castro, PV, Italy
- ^ a b c d e "Rapporto Statistico 2010" (PDF). Statistiche sulle fonti rinnovabili. Gestore Servizi Energetici (GSE). Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ^ a b c d "GSE Statistical Report 2011 - Renewable Power Plants in Italy" (PDF). http://www.gse.it/. Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE S.p.A.). Retrieved 18 June 2014. External link in
|website=(help) - ^ Gestore dei Servizi Energetici - GSE S.p.A
- ^ a b EUROBSER'VER. "Photovoltaic Barometer - installations 2011 and 2012". http://www.energies-renouvelables.org. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2013. External link in
|website=(help) - ^ "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2013 - 2017". European Photovoltaic Industry Association. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
- ^ Michael Graham Richard (8 April 2013). "Solar power has reached grid parity in India and Italy". treehugger. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ a b EUROBSER'VER. "Photovoltaic Barometer - installations 2009 and 2010". http://www.energies-renouvelables.org. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2013. External link in
|website=(help) - ^ a b EUROBSER'VER. "Photovoltaic Barometer - installations 2010 and 2011". http://www.energies-renouvelables.org. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2013. External link in
|website=(help) - ^ Paul Gipe (2012-08-31). "Italian Solar Generation Surpasses Wind for First Time". RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ^ "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2014-2018". www.epia.org. EPIA - European Photovoltaic Industry Association. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ Thomas Gerke (2013-01-15). "Italian Solar Provides 5.6% Of Demand In 2012". CleanTechnica. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ^ "IEA PVPS TRENDS 2014 in Photovoltaic Applications" (PDF). http://www.iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=trends. 12 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. External link in
|website=(help) - ^ "Photovoltaics:Overview of installed PV in 2013". Renewables International. 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ^ "EARLY DATA ON 2013 ELECTRICITY DEMAND: 317 BILLION KWH OF DEMAND, -3.4% COMPARED TO 2012". Terna (company). 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ^ "Snapshot of Global PV 1992-2014" (PDF). http://www.iea-pvps.org/index.php?id=32. International Energy Agency — Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. External link in
|website=(help) - ^ "Il bilancio energetico". terna.it. 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
- ^ PV Resources.com (2010). World's largest photovoltaic power plants
- ^ "Montalto di Castro". SMA. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- ^ Solar Park Montalto di Castro
- ^ Real Time Output Display
- ^ a b Backwell, Ben (2010-07-14). "Enel starts up its Archimede plant in world first for CSP". ReCharge (NHST Media Group). Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- ^ Babington, Deepa (2010-07-14). "Sicily plant offers Italy new impetus on solar front". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- ^ a b "At Priolo Enel inaugurates the "Archimede" power plant" (Press release). Enel. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- ^ "ENEL opens "world's first" molten-salt/solar plant". The Engineer (Centaur Media plc.). 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- ^ Popham, Peter (2007-03-28). "Sicily to build world's first solar power plant". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- ^ CSP Today, April 11, 2014 "Italian project shows strong potential for sand based CSP"
External links[edit]
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
