Italy's FER X ministerial decree, effective August 7, 2026, sets a 37.15 GW cap for solar, wind, hydropower and biogas capacity, introducing new component-origin requirements.
Italy’s Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) has published the final text of the FER X decree, which entered into force on August 7, 2026, after receiving clearance from Italy’s Court of Auditors. The scheme succeeds the provisional FER X and sets a maximum cap of 37.15 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable capacity, of which 10 GW is reserved for photovoltaic projects alone. It also covers wind, hydropower and gas treatment from wastewater purification processes. The text, comprising seventeen articles and five annexes, additionally opens the scheme to projects located in other European Union member states.
Ministerial decree No. 194 of June 18, 2026, signed by Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, establishes a national framework to support renewable electricity generation whose production costs approach market competitiveness. Projects with a capacity of up to 1 megawatt (MW) qualify for direct access, while larger installations must go through downward-bidding auctions. This solar market dynamic is also visible elsewhere in Europe, where Sonnedix raised €730 million to finance its solar assets across Southern Europe.
For installations under 200 kilowatts (kW), the public operator GSE (Gestore dei Servizi Energetici) directly purchases and resells the electricity produced, paying an all-inclusive tariff for twenty years. For installations of 200 kW or above, GSE compares the awarded price against the day-ahead market electricity price and pays or collects the difference under a two-way contract for difference. The reference price is set by the ARERA regulator (Autorità di Regolazione per Energia Reti e Ambiente) for direct-access projects, and corresponds to the auction base price reduced by the discount rate offered for projects awarded through auctions.
Article 6 of the text requires that at least 30% of the competitive photovoltaic and wind capacity be reserved for dedicated procedures incorporating preselection criteria — responsible business conduct, cybersecurity, delivery capacity, and resilience regarding component origin — in line with EU Regulation 2025/1176. These requirements target countries holding more than 50% of the European Union’s supply for key components, or rapidly growing beyond 40%. This type of regulatory constraint is not unique to Italy: Bulgaria’s wind energy association BGWEA recently warned against excessive environmental restrictions in a similar context of tightening European regulation.
For photovoltaics, three rules apply: the system and modules must not be manufactured in the dominant third country, photovoltaic cells and inverters must not originate from that country, and at least one other main component listed in the annex to EU Regulation 2025/1178 must not come from that country. For the first time, these constraints also extend to wind power: turbines and drivetrains cannot originate from the dominant third country.
The rules under the final FER X decree apply until December 31, 2030, with the exception of direct-access installations, for which the scheme ends 60 days after the national 10 GW capacity cap is reached, should that threshold be crossed before that date. According to the published text, market-zone coefficients must be published within 60 days. Operational rules are still expected, which will trigger the countdown for prequalification requests.
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