Italy's energy agency, Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), has launched the second solar auction under the country’s new incentive mechanism for renewable energy, the transitional FER X program. This procurement round is expected to allocate between 200 MW and 1.6 GW of solar PV capacity. It is open to commercial and industrial solar projects, as well as large-scale PV installations.

For PV projects with a capacity not exceeding 1 MW, the Italian government has excluded the use of solar modules, cells, and inverters manufactured in China. The stated objective of this restriction is to support European manufacturing of these components. This is based on the "EU resilience" criterion, which has been recognized and approved by the European Commission as a valid non-price criterion in public procurement.

In the most recent tender under the earlier phase of the FER X scheme, held in July 2025, the government awarded 278.5 MW of solar capacity across 53 sites and approved two wind projects totalling 88.4 MW. The auction attracted 1,387 project proposals, representing a combined capacity of around 17.5 GW, competing for a total available capacity of 8 GW.

As of the end of 2024, Italy’s installed solar capacity stood at 36 GW.