Italian power groups clash with government on solar panel curbs
MILAN, May 8 (Reuters) -Italian power groups are at loggerheads with the government over new limits on the installation of solar panels, which they say would put Rome's decarbonisation goals at risk and increase electricity costs.
The country's rightwing coalition on Monday approved a ban on photovoltaic systems with modules placed on the ground in areas classified as agricultural land.
Elettricità Futura - the lobby representing the country's main power groups including state-controlled utility Enel ENEI.MI, A2A A2.MI and Edison EDNn.MI - said the limit would increase costs to develop new solar projects, complicate the permit process and jeopardise Italy's green goals.
"The new regulation could also lead to a credibility problem for our country in dealing with companies which have planned projects worth up to 300 billion euros ($323 billion) to make the installations necessary to reach the 2030 targets," the lobby said in a statement released late on Tuesday.
In its draft plan for energy and climate (PNIEC) the government has pledged to increase energy produced by solar farms by 50 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 as part of its switch out of fossil fuels.
Elettricità Futura said this new rule would exacerbate the lack of large solar farms, an issue that keeps the cost of renewable energy high in Italy.
"Electricity generated by utility-scale photovoltaic systems costs a third of the electricity generated by residential rooftop photovoltaic systems," it said.
Agricultural lobbies -- key supporters of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government -- have long called for limitations to the panels, saying they were incompatible with cultivation.
"Agriculture and photovoltaic can coexist," said Italia Solare, the Italian association for the solar sector, adding 1% of unoccupied agricultural land would suffice to realise half of the 50 GW required for Italy to meet 2030 targets, with the rest coming from rooftops.
($1 = 0.9302 euros)
Reporting by Francesca Landini
Editing by Keith Weir
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