Utility-scale batteries show exponential growth in Italy

The “Storage systems observatory” report published by Italian electronic industry body Anie states more energy storage capacity arrived from fewer, larger BESS in the country last year, thanks to the dominance of more-than-1 MWh, “utility-scale” facilities.

Referring to registration statistics compiled by grid operator Terna, the Anie division of national business organization Confindustria noted a fall in installations for residential and C&I batteries.

“Installed [energy storage] capacity increased from 507 MWh, in 2023, to 3,359 MWh in 2024 while installed [BESS] power [capacity] increased from 222 MW to 851 MW,” wrote Anie Confindustria, of utility-scale BESS. “In 2024, 14 new standalone [energy] storage plants, [each] exceeding 10 MWh, entered into operation, including two of approximately 800 MWh each. These 14 new installations [incentivized by] the [grid] capacity market auctions, brought a total of 3,310 MWh of capacity and 811 MW of power into the grid.”

By contrast, solar-backed “residential” energy storage systems – defined as having a capacity of less than 20 kWh – saw a 29% fall in the number of batteries, a 33% fall in total energy storage capacity, and a 32% reduction in rated power. That was largely due to the shuttering of the “Superbonus” tax deduction which applied to homes which undertook energy efficiency renovations.

BESS with a capacity of 20 kWh to 1 MWh, defined as “C&I” systems, saw a 26% decline in installations, 16% fall in energy storage capacity, and 34% retreat in rated power, compared with 2023. Anie Confindustria said that was down to uncertainty over the final shape of the government’s Industry 5.0 Plan to renovate the nation’s manufacturing base with energy-transition-ready equipment.

Analysts, including speakers at a conference organized by pv magazine during the NetZero Milan event, are expecting a reversal in fortune for C&I energy storage this year.

“Added to this, for both segments, is the failure of renewable energy communities [CERs, which generate and share electricity] to take off, which continues to represent a brake on the widespread development of storage systems,” wrote Anie. “This is also because the maximum PNRR [Italy’s EU-funded post-Covid Recovery and Resilience plan] contribution of €1,500 [$1,700]/kW only covers the investment costs of the photovoltaic system, effectively excluding technologies such as storage systems and wind power. Certainly, the new mechanisms for CERs outlined in the new decree signed in mid-May by [environment and energy security] minister Pichetto Fratin can allow greater access to PNRR resources for photovoltaics, but not for storage systems.”

The industrial group’s report said 209,112 energy storage systems were installed in Italy last year, with total rated power of 2,113 MW and storage capacity of 5,921 MWh.

That took the nation to 733,666 systems, at the end of the year, with 5,565 MW total rated power and 12,942 MWh of storage.

Utility-scale

This year’s storage-dedicated Macse national auction – for grid electricity delivery in 2028 – continuing grid capacity market procurement rounds, and ongoing falls in battery system costs will fuel further growth in utility-scale systems this year, Anie wrote.

The report stated, “Analyzing the results of the capacity market auctions, it can be observed that storage systems are progressively establishing themselves among the most competitive technologies of new plants, reaching, in the last auction, 95% of the awarded power. Another interesting aspect concerns the award price parameter, which is constantly decreasing, from €75,000/MW/year in the 2022 main auction, to €47,000/MW/year in the 2027 main auction, a value equivalent to that of existing thermoelectric plants, demonstrating the competitiveness of storage technology.”

Lithium-based batteries account for 99.6% of the energy storage systems installed in Italy at the end of 2024. Some 92% of the nation’s batteries had less than 20 kWh of storage capacity. Among those, 37% were 10 kWh to 15 kWh in scale and 36% 5 kWh to 10 kWh.

The Anie report added, “Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, installations in the fourth quarter of 2024 were down both in number and power (by 43% and 18%, respectively), while the values ​​relating to capacity were stable (rising 2%).”

The study again lamented the lack of a system to monitor which projects, awarded in national auctions, have entered operation, which have been delayed or are under construction, and which have been abandoned.

“According to Anie, in fact, there are several plants that should have entered into operation, compared to the cumulative power of Terna’s Gaudì data,” wrote the federation, referring to the BESS registration system used by the grid company.

Anie Confindustria also called for implementation, in Italy, of the European Union’s Net Zero Industry Act, to incentivize upstream battery manufacturing.

From pv magazine Italia.