Italy’s first auction for onshore renewables under its new FER-X support framework is expected to be delayed until the second half of 2026 as talks between the country’s government and the European Commission over approval of the scheme continue.
Speaking to reNEWS at the KEY Energy Transition Expo in Rimini, Italy, sources at several developers active in onshore renewables said that hopes for an auction in the first half of the year have faded, and that the end of 2026 is now likely for an initial round.
Italian Minister for the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin told delegates at the event that talks with the European Commission over the framework were continuing and that he expects them to reach a conclusion “in a few months”.
He said: “My team is working very closely with the European Commission but it is a lengthy procedure.”
Developers have yet to see a draft of the FER-X framework, but expect it to be a two-sided contracts for difference regime supporting onshore wind and solar PV, with qualitative and quantitative elements in line with European Directives including the Net Zero Industry Act.
Delays in drawing up the decree forced the Italian government to implement a reduced-scope auction scheme – valid only until the end of 2025 – known as the Transitional FER-X. This scheme awarded 939MW of onshore wind capacity in a single auction round last year.
Fratin also told delegates that the Ministry is continuing to work on drafting the FER-Z framework, which aims to incentivise investment in renewable energy sources through the procurement of aggregated portfolios of capacity.
The first FER-Z auction is expected to take place in 2027.