The photovoltaic industry continues to grow in Italy and in the world
PHOTOVOLTAIC IN 2018: NEW GROWTH FOR INSTALLATIONS AND GENERATION
The photovoltaic industry continues to grow in Italy and in the world: generation from solar energy, along with that from other renewable sources, is essential for the decarbonisation process aimed at protecting the planet.
The 2018 has brought numerous positive results, both in terms of generation and new installations, in the world and in Italy. Moreover, our country has set ambitious targets for the energy transition in the coming years: the Proposal for an Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate to 2030, which the Ministry of Economic Development has recently sent to the European Commission, provides 30% of gross final consumption of energy met by production from renewable sources and a share of energy from renewable sources in transport of 21.6%.
With regard to new installations, in the first eleven months of 2018, according to the census conducted by the Anie Rinnovabili, the new photovoltaic, wind and hydroelectric installations have reached an estimated 836 MW, an increase of 9% compared to 2017.
Looking at the demand, last year the demand for electricity in Italy, according to Terna’s surveys, amounted to 321.9 billion kWh: 35% of this requirement was met with energy from renewable sources, the maximum value of last six years, thanks to 787,000 plants in operation, for an installed power of over 53 GW, which generated 104 TWh.
If the total national energy consumption is examined, according to the latest GSE Statistical Report (2017 data), the share covered by RES has been equal to 18.3% a value higher than both the year before and the target assigned to the Italy from Directive 2009/28 / EC for 2020. The growth was mainly linked to favourable climatic conditions, including a good irradiation that allowed to record the historical record in photovoltaic production, equal to 24.4 TWh.
Around the world too, 2018 was an important year for the photovoltaic sector, albeit with some slowdowns. The new installations have reached 100 GW per year for the first time, according to a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. However, the same report indicates, compared to 2017, a 24% drop in investments, amounting to 130.8 billion dollars. A figure however less negative than it might appear, given that part of this reduction is due to the sharp drop in the capex of the plants. The global reference for the installation cost of a MW of photovoltaic capacity fell by 12% last year, after the producers cut their sales prices in the face of an excess of modules on the world market.
For 2019, forecasts drawn up by IHS Markit tell an 18% growth in new global installations, which should reach 123 GW, driven by growing markets such as Vietnam and Spain.
EF Solare Italia has dedicated its annual conference of 2018 to this theme, entitled “Photovoltaics: the future is still growing” and, as the first photovoltaic operator in Italy, the company is an industrial leader to drive the growth of the sector through operational excellence, technological innovation and the development of new plants.