Italy is looking to get a solar energy boost from Enel Green Power, which just announced plans to construct two large concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. But Italy’s still got a ways to go to catch up with the CSP world leaders.

Solar thermal power plants have their supporters and (more…)

In the field of renewable energy, the priorities in Italy have included securing a cost-effective energy supply, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and guaranteeing energy sector competitiveness. Though the cleantech sector has been slow to grow, renewable energy in Italy will expand over time with a number of incentives, legislations, and other (more…)

In a move that will shake the global PV industry like an earthquake, the Italian Government approved on 3rd March a long awaited Renewable Energy Decree that marks an unanticipated, early end to its incredible solar race. After months of intense negotiations with Parliament and Industry representatives that seemed to have reached positive results, the Italian (more…)

Just a few days ago I was about to start an article on the fast-rising pace of the Italian solar market, based on the available data from GSE (the Italian Government’s Energy Agency). I was to comment on what I thought would be a banner year, with total installations for almost 3,000 MWs, over four times the previous year’s levels (718 (more…)

San Jose-based SunPower on Monday (27) announced that it has completed the sale of its 44-megawatt Montalto di Castro solar park to a consortium of international investors that include MetLife, Fondo PPP Italia and Voigt & Collegen. SunPower designed and built the solar power plant and will provide ongoing operations and maintenance services for the new owners. (more…)

Italy is not a leading renewable energy country in Europe, lagging behind other southern European nations such as Spain and Portugal. But an announcement made this week may be the sign of a change to come.

The news was released by SunEdison, a global solar energy provider. The company (more…)

(Reuters) – Italy, Europe’s No. 3 solar market, will not lose its appeal to investors despite a cut in production incentives and is likely to add about 1,000 megawatt of capacity a year in 2010-2013, the industry body head said.

Italy will slash feed-in tariffs (more…)

I’m glad that they are so proud of themselves for unanimously agreeing to do nothing! Leaders of the G8 leading industrial countries have agreed to try to limit global warming to just 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels by 2050.

Pretty farcical on so many levels, but on a personal, empathetic, level I’m happy for poor (rich?!) Mr Berlusconi who got a chance to shed some of the stress he’s been feeling at home with a photo op and stroll with our vaunted supreme leader and the other, merely mortal, leaders of the developed world.*

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Southern Italy, with it abundant sunshine and high electricity tariffs from coal-generated power plants, could by 2010 produce solar power that is economically competitive with conventional power. That’s the assessment of Winfried Hoffmann, president of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, who also predicted that solar power could meet 12 percent of Europe’s electricity demand by 2020.

Hoffman said that the cost of producing power from photovoltaic cells is steadily declining, so much so that by next year solar power in southern Italy could be produced as cheaply as the 25 euro cents ($.35) per kilowatt hour that residents there now pay for coal-generated electricity. Hoffmann asserted that 12 percent of the continent’s electricity could come from solar power by 2020 if the European Union enforces rules on renewable power quotas and continues state-subsidized programs that pay generators of renewable power a premium for channeling their electricity into centralized power grids.

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