With an average of 6 MW/month wind and 54 MW/month PV recorded in the first 10 months of 2020, we are still a long way from the average of 83 MW/month wind and 250 MW/month PV needed to reach the goals of the PNIEC to 2030. The recent disappointing outcome of the last auction of the RES DM 4.7.2019 has shown that the authorization obstacles in the RES sector are growing, despite the intervention with the Simplification DL. It is photovoltaics that is showing the most signs of recovery after the slowdown caused by the lockdown in March and April.
Positive sign for photovoltaic installations
The photovoltaic sector reached 538 MW of new installations through October 2020 (+25% compared to 2019). Monthly installations had a significant increase in July (+83 MW) and August (+102 MW), while in September and October there were respectively 49 MW and 45 MW. It is worth mentioning the activation of some large plants: in October a 54.5 MW photovoltaic plant in Sardinia in the province of Cagliari and in July 2020 two plants for a total of 18 MW in Piedmont in the province of Turin and a 3.1 MW plant in Veneto in the province of Treviso. The regions with the largest increase in terms of power are Campania, Liguria, Molise, Piedmont and Sardinia, while those with the largest decrease are Basilicata, Trentino Alto Adige and Valle d'Aosta. A comparison of the first ten months of 2020 with 2019 shows a decrease (-8%) in the number of new generating units connected. In terms of size, installations of less than 20 kW make up 39% of the total, while those larger than 1 MW account for 21% of new connections.
Wind energy in decline
Overall down (-87% compared to 2019) is the contribution of wind power, which reaches about 55 MW of new installations until October 2020. Of note is the activation in August 2020 of an 11.8 MW wind power plant in Puglia in the province of Foggia. There was a reduction (-23%) in the number of generating units compared to the first ten months of 2019. In terms of territorial spread, most of the new connected power (83%) is located in the regions of Southern Italy.
Growth in hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity in 2020 is growing (+59% compared to 2019) thanks to about 57 MW of new installed capacity. Of note is the activation in July of a 6.8 MW plant in Valle d'Aosta and in October a 2.3 MW plant in Piedmont in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Comparing the first ten months of 2020 with the first ten months of 2019, there was a 24% increase in the number of connected generating units.
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