Italy assigns CfDs to 296MW of onshore wind in latest tender

Onshore wind projects secured a total of 296MW in Italy’s latest joint tender for 2.3GW in wind and solar, roughly in line with solar, which took 299MW.

Italian state agency GSE, which ran the auction, awarded CfDs to 12 Italian wind farms. One clear winner was ERG, Italy’s largest wind operator, which secured the 20-year tariff for 143MW in new wind capacity for the repowering of the 42MW Partinico-Monreale Partinico-Monreale (42MW) OnshorePartinico, Sicily, Italy, Europe Click to see full details, 42MW Mineo-Militello and 58.8MW Vizzini wind farms in Sicily.

Among other companies winning contracts, RWE was assigned a CfD for a 25.2MW wind farm in Sicily, which was excluded from the previous auction, while Italian developer Lucky Wind was successful with an 8.4MW project in Apulia.

Nine out of the 12 wind farms, totalling 239.4MW, are in the southern Italian region of Sicily, with one project each in Sardinia, Apulia and Liguria.

Overall, 595MW was awarded in the sixth out of seven scheduled joint auctions for wind and solar projects over 1MW, only a quarter of the total 2.3GW on offer. Capacity allocated in one auction is made available in the next one.

However, the latest auction was  a clear improvement on the previous tender in May, in which 20-year contracts were assigned to only 41MW in wind and 32MW in solar capacity.

Auction results continue to fall short of the new capacity rollout needed to meet Italy’s ambitious renewable targets, as a slow permitting process continues to impede growth. The government aims to source 72% of electricity from renewable sources in 2030, nearly double the 37% seen in 2020.

Given the scant competition, CfDs were assigned at a discount of just 2.00-2.06% to a reference price of €66.5/MWh, or €65.13-€65.17/MWh, in line with the previous auction.

Roberto Cingolani, Italy’s minister for the ecological transition, said the government would shortly publish a road map for renewable energy auctions for the next five years.