The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, a €1.7 billion Italian scheme made available in part through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (‘RRF’) to support agrivoltaic installations. The measure is part of Italy’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase its share of renewable energies, in line with the EU’s strategic objectives relating to the EU Green Deal.
The scheme supports the construction and operation in Italy of new agrivoltaic plants for a total capacity of 1.04 GW and an electricity production of at least 1300 GWh/year. Agrivoltaic systems allow for the simultaneous use of land both to produce photovoltaic energy through the installation of solar panels and to carry out agricultural activities. Under the scheme, the aid will be granted to agricultural producers, cumulatively, in the form of: (i) investment grants, with a total budget of €1.1 billion, covering up to 40% of the eligible investment costs; and (ii) incentive tariffs, with an estimated budget of €560 million, to be paid during the operational phase of the projects, for a 20-year period.
The Commission assessed the scheme under EU state aid rules, in particular Article 107 (3)(c) TFEU, which enables Member States to support the development of certain economic activities subject to certain conditions, and the 2022 Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy (‘CEEAG’). On this basis, the Commission approved the Italian scheme under EU State aid rules.
Commissioner Didier Reynders (pictured) in charge of competition policy, said: “This €1.7 billion scheme, partially funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility, enables Italy to support a more efficient use of land by combining agriculture with renewable energy production. It will contribute to the greening of the agricultural sector and to the transition to climate neutrality, in line with the EU Green Deal objectives.”
A press release is available online.
Share this article:
EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter.
