“We have the ambition to continue to play a leading role in the development of photovoltaics in Italy and Europe. In 2022, thanks to everyone’s work, we achieved important milestones, strengthening our position. In 2023, we will continue to increase our presence in Italy and abroad. ”, said our CEO, Andrea Ghiselli
EF SOLARE’S ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2022
The global events of 2022 have generated changes in the economy and international balances, causing inevitable consequences on the national energy landscape. The war in Ukraine and the rising cost of raw materials have pushed people to look for new solutions to achieve the country’s energy independence and decarbonization targets, boosting renewables.
2022 was an important year for renewables, which registered significant growth levels. In Europe, for example, wind and solar power covered 24% of total electricity generation, a record that depends heavily on the leading role played by photovoltaics, which Solar Power Europe estimates to have reached 41 GW of new installed capacity this year.
EF Solare has been working to boost photovoltaic development by supporting new installations and modernising our plants through revamping and repowering activities. Thanks to our Operations team, we could perform interventions on up to 80MW to improve our plants’ energy yields without increasing land use.
In 2022, EF Solare actively participated in the activities of industry associations and in important events and debates, to highlight the current state of renewables, growth opportunities, and the obstacles to decarbonization.
We sponsored leading industry research, such as the Electricity Market Report and the Renewable Energy Report by the Energy&Strategy Group of the Politecnico di Milano, which analyzed from a regulatory, technological, and market perspective all the main enablers of the energy transition, such as storage systems.
Our commitment to agrivoltaics also continued. In addition to the development activities carried out by our Business Development team, we participated in the public debate for a clear and effective regulatory framework, and we contributed to the dissemination of knowledge on agrivoltaics. We have participated in European calls and set the basis for research projects with leading institutes at the national level. As confirmation of the value of our projects, our greenhouses in Scalea received an important recognition from Coldiretti Giovani: Antonio Lancellotta, the founder of our historical agricultural partner Le Greenhouse, has been awarded the national prize ‘Oscar Green’ in the category of ‘Sustainability and Ecological Transition’, precisely for sustainable cultivation under photovoltaic greenhouses.
During the year, we pursued our commitment to education, providing training programs to our staff and sponsoring educational projects, such as the Accademia del Sole and the Master SAFE. Through meetings, classes, and field visits we had the opportunity to meet young talents, introducing them to the world of photovoltaics and offering some of them the chance to join our Group.
To better face future challenges, we also had two new additions to our management team: Sabino Lorusso, our new Chief Financial Officer, and Ettore Acampora, Head of Business Development & Energy Management.
In conclusion, 2022 has been a year of recovery and unrest for the photovoltaic sector. However, as our CEO Andrea Ghiselli has also pointed out on several occasions, there is still a lot to be done to build a regulatory framework that can support the investments required for decarbonization.
“We have the ambition to continue to play a leading role in the development of photovoltaics in Italy and Europe. In 2022, thanks to everyone’s work, we achieved important milestones, strengthening our position. The revamping and repowering program has continued; new development initiatives have been added to our pipeline, while ongoing initiatives have continued to ripen in Italy and abroad, where we plan to build a new and important plant next year. In 2023, we will continue to increase our presence in Italy and abroad. As has been the case in recent years, we will lead the way on innovative concepts such as agrivoltaics, which can reconcile our country’s decarbonisation goals and the needs of the primary sector. We will also accelerate the modernization of our operating plants to increase their efficiency and produce more and more green energy”, said our CEO.