Original Coverage & Source Attribution: solarquarter.com
Italy connected 1.74 GW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the third quarter of 2026, registering a 37% increase compared to the 1.269 GW added during the same period in 2025. The country’s solar market continued to expand during the first nine months of the year, with total new installations reaching 4.834 GW through 147,632 newly connected systems.
According to data compiled by ITALIA SOLARE from Terna’s Gaudì database, Italy had 2,314,113 connected photovoltaic systems as of September 30, 2026, representing a cumulative installed capacity of 48.347 GW. During the third quarter alone, 58,459 new systems were connected, compared to 38,660 in the previous quarter, marking a 34% increase. Newly connected capacity also increased by 5% compared to the second quarter.
The growth was mainly driven by utility-scale and commercial and industrial (C&I) installations. During the first nine months of 2026, utility-scale projects with capacities of 1 MW and above added 2,241 MW through 473 installations, accounting for 46% of the total new capacity. The C&I segment, covering systems between 20 kW and 1 MW, contributed 1,697 MW from 11,905 installations, representing 35%. Residential installations of up to 20 kW added 897 MW through 135,254 connections, accounting for 19%.
During the third quarter, utility-scale installations contributed 858 MW, including 394 MW from projects between 1 MW and 10 MW and 464 MW from projects above 10 MW. C&I installations added 543 MW, while residential systems contributed 341 MW.
Geographically, Sicily led Italy in newly connected solar capacity during the first nine months, adding 686 MW. Lombardy followed with 644 MW, ahead of Piedmont with 498 MW, Veneto with 463 MW, Emilia-Romagna with 443 MW and Lazio with 432 MW. Lombardy recorded the highest number of new installations, with 22,999 systems, followed by Veneto with 18,099.
Italy’s energy storage market also continued to expand, approaching the 20 GWh milestone. By September 30, 2026, the country had connected 984,829 electrochemical storage systems with a combined capacity of 19,983 MWh and a power output of 8,338 MW. Of the total capacity, 12,552 MWh was associated with photovoltaic installations, while 7,368 MWh came from standalone storage systems.
During the first nine months, 1,953 MWh of new storage capacity was connected, including 1,486 MWh associated with solar installations and 467 MWh from standalone systems. In the third quarter, photovoltaic-linked storage added 480 MWh of capacity and 252 MW of power through 31,039 new connections. This represented a 15% increase in capacity compared to the same quarter in 2025.
Lombardy also led the photovoltaic-linked storage segment, adding 206 MWh during the first nine months, followed by Emilia-Romagna with 155 MWh, Veneto with 146 MWh and Sicily with 144 MWh.
ITALIA SOLARE highlighted the growing importance of utility-scale solar and energy storage in Italy’s energy transition, while emphasising the need to continue supporting distributed generation, self-consumption and regulatory improvements to accelerate storage deployment.
