The new decree to incentivise “AGRICULTURAL” plants including those with “any power capacity” comes into force on 14.2.2024 (‘AgriVoltaic Decree’)
The “Agri-Voltaic Decree” was issued inter alia in consideration of the fact that:
- One of the targets to be achieved within 30 June 2026 is the installation of photovoltaic solar panels in agro-voltaic systems with a capacity of 1,040 MW for an indicative production of at least 1,300 GWh/year;
- Legislative Decree no. 199/2021, provides that a decree of the Minister of Ecological Transition, shall define criteria and procedures to incentivise the construction, within 30 June 2024, of agri-voltaic plants through the granting of loans or non-repayable contributions, which, through the implementation of hybrid agriculture-energy production systems, do not compromise the use of land dedicated to agriculture.
The outstanding features of the AgriVoltaic Decree are the following:
- Incentivisation of the construction, by 30 June 2026, of experimental agri-voltaic systems with a total capacity of at least 1.04 GW and an indicative production of at least 1,300 GWh/year;
- In order to achieve the above objective, agri-voltaic systems are granted an incentive consisting of:
- a capital grant of up to 40 per cent of the eligible costs;
- an incentive tariff for the production of net electricity fed into the grid
Definitions
- agricultural activity: production, rearing or growing of agricultural products, including harvesting, milking, breeding and keeping animals for agricultural purposes;
- agri-voltaic plant of experimental nature: agri-voltaic plant that jointly adopts:
- innovative integrated solutions with the assembly of the modules elevated from the ground, also providing for the rotation of the modules, in any case so as not to compromise the continuity of agricultural and pastoral cultivation activities;
- monitoring systems to verify the impact of the photovoltaic installation on crops, water savings, agricultural productivity for different types of crops, and the continuity of the activities of the farms concerned.
Beneficiaries
- The beneficiaries of the measure governed by this decree are:
- agricultural entrepreneurs as defined by Article 2135 of the Civil Code, in individual or corporate form, including cooperatives,
- agricultural companies as defined by Legislative Decree No 99 of 29 March 2004,
- temporary associations of undertakings.
- Access to the incentives set out in the decree is excluded for plants for which the construction works have started before having submitted an application to participate in the procedures announced under this decree.
- For the purposes of the decree, interventions are deemed to have started when the first obligation rendering an investment irreversible is entered into, such as, for example, that relating to the ordering of equipment or the commencement of construction work;
- The purchase of land and preparatory planning works such as obtaining permits and carrying out preliminary feasibility studies are not to be considered as the start of works.
Modalities and general requirements for access to incentives
Access to the incentives is granted through the participation in public procedures, divided into registers and auctions, to be announced by the GSE during the year 2024,
- Agri-voltaic plants with a capacity of up to 1 MW will be granted access, within the limit of a 300 MW quota, to incentive mechanisms following registration in special registers; while
- Agri-voltaic plants of any power capacity will be granted access, within the limit of the 740 MW quota, to the incentive mechanisms set out in this decree following participation in competitive public procedures.
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