Italy's current incentive architecture for agrivoltaic systems is defined by Ministerial Decree n. 436 of December 22, 2023, which entered into force on February 14, 2024. The decree was issued under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), specifically within Mission 2, Component 2, Investment 1.1 — a line item dedicated to the development of agrivoltaic capacity across Italian agricultural land. The GSE (Gestore dei Servizi Energetici) manages the full lifecycle of this programme, from application processing to incentive disbursement.
Programme Scope and Financial Allocation
The decree targets the installation of at least 1.04 gigawatts of new solar capacity by June 30, 2026, with projected annual output of approximately 1,300 GWh. Total resources allocated to the programme amount to approximately 1.1 billion euros, combining European Recovery Instrument funds with national co-financing.
The programme exclusively supports advanced agrivoltaic systems — a category the decree defines through specific technical criteria that distinguish these installations from standard ground-mounted photovoltaic plants.
Technical Eligibility Requirements
To qualify under the Decreto Agrivoltaico Innovativo, a system must meet all of the following conditions simultaneously:
- Solar modules must be elevated above the ground to allow agricultural machinery to pass beneath, or positioned to ensure sufficient solar radiation reaches the cultivated surface below.
- The installation must not interrupt or permanently displace the primary agricultural activity on the land parcel.
- A monitoring system must be in place throughout the incentive period, tracking at minimum: crop yield indicators, water consumption, soil health, and continuity of farming activity. Data must be reported to the GSE at defined intervals.
- Systems may incorporate single-axis or dual-axis solar tracking, provided the tracking mechanism does not compromise crop access.
These requirements are assessed at application stage and verified through periodic reporting. Non-compliance during the incentive period can result in partial or total clawback of disbursed funds.
Incentive Structure: Two Parallel Mechanisms
The decree provides two complementary forms of support that can be received simultaneously. This combination is unusual in Italian energy policy and reflects the higher capital intensity of elevated agrivoltaic structures compared to conventional ground-mounted plants.
Capital Contribution
A one-time capital grant covering up to 40% of eligible project costs. Eligible costs are defined by the decree and include structural works, module procurement, mounting systems, and monitoring infrastructure. The following maximum thresholds apply:
- €1,700 per kW for systems with a rated capacity up to 300 kW
- €1,500 per kW for systems exceeding 300 kW
The lower rate for larger systems reflects an assumption of scale economies in procurement and installation. Applications must document actual cost components to receive the full contribution rate.
Feed-in Tariff (Incentivo sulla Produzione)
A production-based tariff applied to net electricity fed into the national grid over a 20-year incentive period. Base rates are determined through competitive bidding using a pay-as-bid methodology within Contracts for Difference (CfD) structures. The following base rates are established as reference floors:
| System Size | Base Tariff | Geographic Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ 300 kW | €93/MWh | +€4 to +€10/MWh depending on region |
| > 300 kW | €85/MWh | +€4 to +€10/MWh depending on region |
Geographic adjustments reward installations in areas where electricity infrastructure is less developed, where grid congestion is moderate, or where solar irradiance is lower than the national average. The highest adjustments typically apply to inland mountain zones and some areas of central Italy. Southern regions including Puglia and Sicily generally receive lower adjustments, as their irradiance levels already ensure commercial viability at base rates.
Bidding Procedures and CfD Mechanism
Tariffs are not assigned administratively to individual projects. Instead, the GSE runs competitive bidding rounds in which applicants submit bids stating the tariff level at which they are willing to operate. Winning bids are selected using the pay-as-bid rule: each successful applicant receives exactly the tariff they bid, provided it falls within the ceiling set by the decree.
Contracts for Difference operate as a two-way mechanism. When the market price exceeds the agreed tariff, the producer returns the difference to the GSE. When the market price falls below the agreed tariff, the GSE pays the producer the shortfall. This design protects producers against low-price periods while preventing windfall gains during high-price episodes.
Eligible Applicants
The programme restricts eligibility to entities with a demonstrable connection to agricultural activity on the relevant land parcel. The following categories are explicitly named in the decree:
- Individual agricultural entrepreneurs (imprenditori agricoli) as defined under Italian civil law
- Agricultural cooperatives and their consortia
- Temporary business associations (ATI/ATS) in which at least one member qualifies as an agricultural operator
Pure energy developers without an agricultural operator in the applicant structure cannot access the programme directly. This restriction was introduced to prevent the incentive from being captured by financial entities with no material involvement in farming.
Application Pathway via the GSE Portal
All applications are submitted through the GSE's dedicated online portal. The process follows a defined sequence: pre-qualification assessment, formal application with technical documentation, evaluation phase, and contract execution. Once a contract is executed, the capital contribution is disbursed in tranches tied to construction milestones. Feed-in tariff payments commence upon grid connection and GSE registration of the production unit.
The GSE publishes updated guidance documents and call-for-tender notices on its official website at gse.it. Applicants are advised to verify current call conditions directly, as some parameters are revised between bidding rounds.
Monitoring and Reporting Obligations
Incentive recipients must operate a monitoring system for the full 20-year tariff period. The GSE specifies minimum measurement parameters: crop yield data (expressed in tonnes per hectare for the primary crop), water consumption (cubic metres per hectare), and a binary farm-activity-continuity indicator submitted annually. Additionally, a minimum share of the land parcel — set at 70% in most configurations — must remain under active agricultural use throughout the incentive period. Failure to maintain this threshold triggers proportional reduction of the feed-in tariff for the affected reporting year.
Relationship to Other Incentive Schemes
Agrivoltaic systems receiving support under the PNRR decree are not eligible to simultaneously receive incentives from the Conto Energia mechanism or the FER 1/FER 2 feed-in tariff registers. Cumulation with direct agricultural subsidies (including CAP payments and PSR-funded investments) is permitted, subject to anti-double-funding verification by the GSE in coordination with AGEA.