2010 saw the surge of Italy’s interest for investing in the solar market, so much so that it drove the country to rank second on the new installations scale. Worries that government incentives were about to stop this year led consumers into frenzy. A prolongation of the program until June 2011 will make Italy own an impressive 7 GW of solar power attached to the grid.
Thanks to these incentives offered since 2007, Italian consumers helped their country set a national record in 2010 by reaching 4,000 MW.
According to the director of the state services agency Gerardo Montanino, 200 MW from last year’s total were successfully integrated in the system in December and he is confident that another 3,000 MW will do the same by midsummer.
“Some 200 MW out of these 4,000 MW became operative in December, and I believe that at least another 3,000 MW will be connected by the end of June,” Gerardo Montanino, director of the state services agency told Reuters, according to Electricity Forum.
Things are going very well for the country’s energy industry, since its current status respects more than would be imposed by the Kyoto Accord, but all this is about to end with the cut of the incentives. It remains to be seen what the government is going to do about it, but at least the 7 GW are saved no matter what!
[via Cleantechnica]
