The European Commission has approved an over €5bn scheme to support renewable electricity production in Italy.
The new scheme will cover onshore wind, PV, hydroelectric and sewage gasses and paves the way for a new set of renewable support auctions in Italy this year.
European Commissioner for competition Margrethe Vestager said the new scheme “will increase the level of Italy’s electricity production from renewable sources”.
The proposals are in-line with EU environmental objectives and common state aid rules, she added.
A timetable of future support auctions in Italy will be defined when Italian ministers pass a long-awaited ministerial decree through parliament.
The exact timing and final details of the decree are unknown, but draft versions suggest eight auctions will put supports in place for almost 6GW of renewables between 2019 and 2022.
Italian wind energy agency ANEV released a statement calling on the government to “intervene immediately to give wind farm companies the chance to work to achieve their goals”.
It added: “We recall that there are private investments ready for over €10bn in the wind sector alone from today to 2030”.
Energy consultancy Elemens predicts the first auction for 500MW capacity in September followed by another 500MW auction in January next year.
The new EU-approved scheme will support new installations via a premium on top of the market price of electricity.
This premium cannot be higher than the difference between the average production cost for each renewable technology and the market price.
The scheme also includes a so-called clawback mechanism to ensure state support is limited to the minimum necessary, the European Commission said.
The mechanism kicks in if future market prices move above the average production cost for each renewable technology.
In that scenario, the selected installations will no longer receive a premium and have to give the additional revenue back to the Italian authorities.