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Italy PV technology status and prospects S. Castello, ENEA S. Guastella, CESI |
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As a consequence of the electrical market liberalization, CESI has acquired from ENEL (year 2000) its R&D activities in generation, transmission, distribution, end-use of electricity, environment and renewable energies and is carrying out studies and experimental activities, in the sector of photovoltaic systems, on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Productive Activities (formerly Ministry of Industry). In 2001, ERGA spa (now ENEL Green Power Spa), a company established by ENEL for business on the renewable energy market, confirmed its position as the world’s largest company dedicated exclusively to renewable energy. ENEL has also entered into the North and South American market with its acquisition of the CHI Energy company and its recent acquisition of EGI (Energia Global International).
As it has already occurred in other countries which are deeply involved in PV, a national rooftop Programme has been now started in Italy. This Programme, initially conceived by the Ministry of Productive Activities, is at present funded by the Ministry of Environment and the Italian Local Authorities. Moreover, the Programme was completely defined in December 2000 and launched in March 2001, as part of a broader programme towards the diffusion of photovoltaic technology in Italy.
On the technology side, crystalline silicon cells and amorphous silicon integrated modules are developed by ENEA, while an international cooperation programme is carried out in the field of heterojunction. From the systems point of view, the total cumulative PV power installed in Italy was expected to be about 20 MWp at year-end 2001. Rural electrification, off-grid domestic applications, on-grid centralized systems and on-grid distributed systems constitute the most important sectors of the Italian market, which is still showing a behaviour strongly dependent on subsidized projects.
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The first one, funded by about 10,3 mio EUR and managed by the Ministry of Environment, is almost concluded and is addressed only to Public bodies, such as Local Authorities, Universities and Research Institutions. More than 200 PV installations have been approved, for a total capacity of about 1,8 MW.
During the period April – June 2001, 586 applications have been submitted to the Ministry of Environment in the framework of the first Sub-programme. The corresponding requested power sums of up to 6.6 MW with a demand of more than three times the offer, in terms of both power and public contributions were requested. However, because of this real success, additional funds have been made available by the Ministry of Environment to finance (with a share of 50%) applications coming from those Regions, that will provide the rest of funds.
The second Sub-programme, addressed also to citizens and private companies is composed of 21 local Programmes. In fact, the nineteen Italian Regions and the two Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano have agreed to jointly fund the initiative, providing in total 9,3 mio Euro; corresponding to about 30% of the total of the public incentives. The remaining 70% (i.e. 20,7 mio EUR) is still coming from the Ministry of Environment. Ministerial funds have been shared proportionally among participants with their populations. The main objective of this Sub-programme is to realize about 1800 plants by 2002, with a total capacity of around 5 MW. Most Region and Autonomous Provinces have issued their announcements during the period August – September 2001, while the deadline for application submission has ranged from October to December 2001. In general, contributions of up to 75% of the eligible investment cost can be provided by both Sub-programmes. The maximum investment cost has been fixed at about 8 EUR/W, for photovoltaic plants ranging from 1 to 5 kW. In the range from 5 to 20 kW, the maximum investment cost is decreasing to 7 EUR/W.
It is worth mentioning that only the first Sub-programme incentive photovoltaic installations in Natural Parks as well as good quality really integrated systems, admitted an increase up to 20% of the above investment cost. However, in the framework of the second Sub-programme, priority is given to fully integrated rooftop applications.
On the whole, the Ministry of Environment incentives activated an invested amount of about 53 mio EUR in order to realize more than 2 000 plants; with a total installed capacity around 7 MW. In this scenario, ENEA has been requested to provide the technical support to the Ministry of Environment in the definition, management, data monitoring and reporting of the two Sub-programmes.
Besides, ENEA will provide, in the framework of its R&D activities on distributed generation, the scientific and technical support, contributing to reach the long term objectives of the initiative.
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At CESI laboratories, research studies have been carried out on high efficiency GaInP2/GaAs/Ge triple junction photovoltaic cells. These studies, which make use of CISE (now incorporated in CESI) experience on the fabrication of photovoltaic cells for spatial applications, are aimed at the development of GaAs-based cells whose cost could justify their terrestrial application.
Moreover, in the field of a-Si/c-Si heterojunction, a cooperation between Eurosolare, ENEA and some other European operators, is currently being carried out in the framework of the “MOPHET” Programme which is promoted by the European Community. In the field of systems and components, activities on small grid-connected plants, such as prototypes of roof mounted systems are carried out by ENEA in the Manfredonia test facility and in the Portici Center. Performances of these plants are analyzed in terms of energy output, energy losses, power quality, operation and maintenance procedures.
Analysis and tests on medium and large power plants have been carried out by ENEA on Delphos 600 kWp (1 unit of 300 kWp and 3 units of 100 kWp, called PLUG) and Casaccia 100 kWp grid-connected plant.
Furthermore, performance evaluations of photovoltaic components and plants have been carried out by CESI on several PV plants owned by the ENEL Group (located throughout the Italian territory), in order to assess long term behaviour of PV technology in different climatic conditions and in different electric configurations.
In the framework of preliminary activities foreseen by the Italian Rooftop Programme, the realization of 4 (out of 18) small pilot plants, for a total capacity of about 40 kWp has been completed in 2001. The data collection and performance analysis are now being carried out by CESI and ENEA.
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The major PV module manufacturer is Eurosolare with a staff of about 70 people. Its manufacturing facilities have a production capability of 3 MWp/year per shift. Both single-crystal and polycrystalline silicon cells are currently produced. The Eurosolare polycrystalline module manufacturing process is completely integrated starting from the ingot fabrication while single crystal modules use wafers bought on the international market. Eurosolare production includes also specially designed modules for rooftops and facades. Overall, the Eurosolare module production has been of 4,4 MWp (0,5 MWp as single crystal) in 2001.
The second Italian module manufacturer is Helios Technology. Its manufacturing facilities have a production capability of 2,5 MWp/year. In 2001, the Helios Technology module production was expected to be 2,2 MWp. Helios Technology module manufacturing process comprehends the fabrication of cells and modules from mono-crystalline silicon wafers.
In the field of PV systems, it is worth mentioning that both Eurosolare and Helios Technology activities include the commercialization, design and turnkey supply of PV systems. Other industrial operators in this field are A.N.I.T., Gechelin Group, SEI, Artistica and all the companies included in the Italian PV Firms Group (GIFI).
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