Italy’s energy management agency, the Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), has awarded 1,100 MW of solar projects under Italy’s Fonti di Energia Rinnovabile (FER) X Transitory program, a competitive auction aligned with the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), with 88 projects securing contracts.

GSE awarded the projects at an average price of €66.37 (~$77.88)/MWh, calculated as a weighted value based on assigned capacity, corresponding to an average discount of 27.69%.

The highest award price recorded across the winning bids is €73 (~$85.65)/MWh.

Bidders submitted 157 applications for a cumulative capacity of 1,846 MW, from which 88 were selected. Four projects have a capacity of over 50 MW each, while 13 have a capacity between 10 MW and 50 MW. The rest have a capacity of below 10 MW.

The winners must submit the final deposit within 90 calendar days of publication.

The publication also marks the official start of the 36-month deadline for awarded projects to enter into operation, as required under the FER X Transitory Decree. Non-compliance will result in loss of the awarded tariff, forfeiture of ranking status, and enforcement of the deposit. For projects already operational, the 90-day window will begin once the GSE activates the online submission functionality, with a separate communication to be issued soon.

Recently, GSE awarded 940 MW of wind and 7,700 MW of solar projects under the FER X Transitory program. It awarded 474 solar projects at a weighted average award price of €56.825 (~$66.22)/MWh, 37.4% below the ceiling price. It also awarded 29 wind projects at a weighted average price of €72.851 (~$84.9)/MWh, 19.67% below the ceiling price.

In October this year, Italy’s transmission system operator Terna awarded 10 GWh of energy storage capacity in the first auction held under the Electricity Storage Procurement Mechanism across the Central-South, South, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardinia distinct zones.