Italy’s Minister for Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto, highlighted the critical need to develop adequate energy storage capacity to support the growing number of renewable energy plants connected to the national grid. Speaking before the Senate’s VIII Commission, which oversees environmental and energy issues, Pichetto warned that without sufficient storage systems, Italy risks not fully dispatching renewable production during peak hours, potentially compromising national energy targets.

The minister detailed the main market mechanisms in place to incentivize storage investments. These include the Capacity Market, designed to stimulate investment particularly in areas where the national electricity system’s adequacy is most challenging, and MACSE (Mechanism for Procuring Electric Storage Capacity), focused exclusively on storage projects and aimed at promoting investment in southern Italy and the major islands.

According to Pichetto, these tools, particularly MACSE, have successfully achieved their objectives, driving significant growth in battery energy storage system (BESS) investments. “The first battery auction saw participation roughly four times higher than the volume offered,” he noted.

Pichetto also reported that, as of December 31, 2025, Italy has installed a total of 14.4 GW of storage capacity, split between 7 GW of pumped hydro systems and 7.4 GW of BESS.

The Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) has issued 132 authorizations for storage plants totaling 11.2 GW, with a peak in 2025 when 69 permits were granted for almost 6.6 GW. Looking ahead, the minister emphasized that Italy aims to develop approximately 122 GWh of storage capacity by 2030.

Addressing the administrative challenges posed by the exponential increase in applications for single-authority permits (Autorizzazione Unica), Pichetto explained that the ministry has digitalized and streamlined procedures through the launch of the “Permitting BESS” portal, enabling faster approvals and facilitating the rollout of new storage projects across the country.