Italy

Photovoltaics is on the rise in Italy: The international CCE Holding develops and operates Agri-Photovoltaic plants in many Italian regions. For the first time, a plant is being realized in these weeks that was not built in an agricultural environment, but deliberately in an industrial area in Ardea, Lazio. The PV plant makes sensible use of fallow land and enables the return of biodiversity.

Italy has been increasingly relying on solar energy for several years now, with nearly 500,000 plants currently generating around 10 percent of the country's electricity demand, a figure that is on the rise. Large-scale plants between 1MW and 150 MW nominal power have so far been mostly installed on agriculturally used land. In the case of dual use, this is not only very profitable for landowners and tenants: Fruits and cereal varieties also benefit demonstrably from the shade of the panels, reducing water requirements, which is an immense advantage in times of water scarcity in Italy.

Dual benefit for nature

For the first time, CCE Italy is currently building a 4.73 megawatt plant in an industrial area in Ardea. Sandro Esposito, Managing Director of CCE Italy, emphasizes the dual benefit for the area on the edge of a federal road, which has been fallow until now: “It will probably take 1-2 years, but then we expect the soil to regenerate and insects of all kinds to return.”

The Austrian-German CCE Holding has additional Agri PV plants in Italy in the planning pipeline, which will be realized in the coming years. However, bureaucratic processes often prove to be a growth impediment: “CCE has invested a lot of effort and resources to make a small contribution in our own way to achieving the goals that Europe has set for the expansion of renewable energies. Excessive bureaucracy and an underdeveloped power grid often lead to delays. Therefore, the approval process must be simplified and access to the power grid expanded quickly,” says Sandro Esposito.

The bottleneck of the approval process is a focus for CCE in Italy, as the international power producer has PV plants with a total capacity of around 2000 MW in the planning phase here. CCE's tangible goal of becoming a leading IPP (Independent Power Producer) in Europe is closely linked to developments in Italy. In addition to the company's economic success, CEOs Jörg Menyesch and Martin Dürnberger also pursue a higher goal: “We follow our vision of a 'future with 100% renewable energy for a livable planet,' which motivates us every day.