Italy’s solar boom is reshaping wholesale power markets, with rising PV generation driving more frequent low-price periods and widening gaps between solar captured prices and average electricity values.
The local PV sector warns that declining solar revenues could accelerate by 2027, highlighting the growing need for storage and hybrid PV-plus-storage solutions.
Rising photovoltaic generation is reshaping Italy’s wholesale electricity market, increasing the frequency of zero or ultra-low price periods and widening the gap between solar captured prices and average market values. New analysis from Italian PV association Italia Solare shows that solar-heavy zones recorded significant price discounts during peak generation hours in the second quarter, raising concerns that declining solar revenues could accelerate as early as 2027 without wider deployment of storage and hybrid PV-plus-storage solutions.
Data released by the association show that the impact of solar generation was directly reflected in the frequency of zero or extremely low price hours on Italy’s Day-Ahead Market (MGP) during the quarter. All hourly prices below €20 ($22.9)/MWh occurred between 10:00 and 18:00, coinciding with periods of highest solar irradiance, particularly between 12:00 and 16:00. The Calabria, South, and Sicily bidding zones, all located in southern Italy, recorded prices below this threshold for 215 hours during the quarter.
