Solar energy in Italy

The energy produced from the Sun can be directly transformed into electricity through photovoltaic technology.  A photovoltaic plant is a power generator that converts  solar radiation into electricity. The light hits particular properly-treated semiconductor materials (monocrystalline, polycrystalline, amorphous silicon) constituted of cells. Installing a photovoltaic plant means respecting the environment: electricity is produced from a clean source. According to the data provided by the Italian Ministry of the Environment “the achievable environmental benefits obtained by adopting PV systems are proportional to the amount of produced energy, supposing that is going to replace energy otherwise supplied by conventional sources. To produce a kilowatt-hour of electricity the equivalent of 2.56 kWh on average is burnt in the form of fossil fuels. Consequently,  about 0.53 kg of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere (factor of the Italian electricity mix to the distribution). We can therefore say that each kWh produced by the photovoltaic system prevents the emission of 0.53 kg of carbon dioxide”.

Due to the energy generated by our photovoltaic plants, over the last year EF Solare Italia has prevented the production of over 600.000 tons of CO2.

According to the Statistical Report on Solar Photovoltaic Energy 2020, which was drawn up by GSE (Gestore Servizi Energetici S.p.A) by the end of 2020, in Italy there are 935,838 operating photovoltaic plants, with an installed capacity of 21,650 MW (+785 MW compared to the end of 2019), which produced 24.9 TWh of energy in 2019 (+5.3% as compared to the previous year). Small-sized plants (capacity not exceeding 20 kWh) account for 92% of the total number of plants installed in Italy and 22% of the total Italian national capacity. The average size of plants installed in Italy by the end of 2020 amounts to 23.1 kW.

In the Snapshot of Global PV Markets 2021 the PV market is still growing. This report  was drawn up by the Photovoltaic Power System Programme of the International Energy Agency (IEA) (an intergovernmental organisation dealing with energy issues on behalf of the OECD). Last year closed with an additional 140 GW of new installed capacity and the global photovoltaic capacity increased to 760 GW.

In order to be the leading photovoltaic energy producer in Italy, EF Solare Italia draws on its extensive expertise and the most skilled know-how that have been developed over the last few years. It is continuing to invest in the study and testing of new Asset Management and O&M techniques aimed at both improving plants performance and financially optimizing investment projects. The ongoing energy transition is speeding up. The photovoltaic sector is a driving force for an ever increasing number of skilled green jobs.