Solar Power Becomes Competitive in Italy

In more and more regions around the world, solar energy is rapidly becoming competitive with traditional energy sources – and profitable without government support. An impressive example is Italy’s largest unsubsidized PV project, which was recently commissioned in Montalto di Castro in Central Italy.

The Montalto di Castro project consists of five solar power plants owned by Octopus Energy Investments with a combined output of 63 MWp. The plants do not receive any government incentives and deliver their produced energy to Italian power trader Green Trade for a fixed price under a biennial contract. Octopus chose SMA to deliver 58 Sunny Central CP-XT outdoor inverters and perfectly matched medium voltage solutions for the project. They ensure that the PV power is produced cost-efficiently and reliably fed into the grid.

Valerio Natalizia

A new era for Photovoltaics

“The Montalto di Castro project heralds a new era of photovoltaics in Italy and we are very proud to be part of it,” said Regional Manager of SMA South Europe, Valerio Natalizia. “Competitiveness with conventional energy sources is opening up new possibilities for our industry not only in Italy. The next years will become very exciting for us.”

Sunny Central inverters and perfectly matched medium voltage technology combined in the SMA Medium Voltage Power Station provide for reliability and cost-efficiency in the project.