Ground-mounted solar installations occupied 2,798 hectares in Italy in 2025, up from 1,700 hectares in 2024, according to the new “Land Consumption, Urban Ecosystems and the State of the Territory” report by the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and the National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA).
Annual additions have increased sharply over the past five years, from 75 hectares in 2021 to 263 hectares in 2022, 420 hectares in 2023, 1,700 hectares in 2024 and 2,798 hectares in 2025. The area occupied by new ground-mounted solar installations grew from 0.75 square kilometers to 28 square kilometers over that period.
Solar accounted for around 27% of the 10,243 hectares of land consumed in Italy in 2025, as total land consumption increased by 22.4% compared with 2024. After accounting for 746 hectares of restored land, net land consumption reached 9,497 hectares, the highest level since 2012.
Ground-mounted solar installations now occupy a total of 21,368 hectares, corresponding to around 12,570 MW of capacity. The southern region of Puglia has the largest installed area, at 4,764 hectares.
According to ISPRA, ground-mounted solar panels represent a significant share of reversible land consumption, unlike buildings and roads, which are classified as permanent land consumption. The report separately identifies 448.5 hectares of low-density solar installations, including many agrivoltaic projects, where modules cover less than half of the site area. These installations are not counted as consumed land.
In 2025, Lazio recorded 952 hectares of new ground-mounted solar installations out of 1,436 hectares of total land consumption, accounting for about two-thirds of the regional total. In Sicily, solar installations occupied 858.5 hectares out of 1,619 hectares. Together, the two regions accounted for almost 65% of the ground-mounted solar area added in Italy during the year.
They were followed by Piedmont, with 189 hectares; Puglia, with 145 hectares; and Sardinia, with 136 hectares.
The province of Viterbo recorded the largest annual increase in land consumption, at 969 hectares, more than twice the previous year’s figure. The municipalities with the largest increases were Tuscania, at 319 hectares, and Montalto di Castro, at 316 hectares, followed by Catania, at 198 hectares.
Excluding ground-mounted solar, the ranking changes, with Rome recording the largest increase at 74 hectares, followed by Foggia at 72 hectares, Cerignola at 53 hectares and Campagna at 51 hectares. Lazio also recorded Italy’s highest relative increase, equivalent to 1.01% of its existing artificial surface area.
The report states that, in municipalities covered by the European Union’s Nature Restoration Regulation, the loss of natural land in central and southern Italy and the islands is largely driven by large ground-mounted solar installations. In northern Italy, buildings, logistics facilities and construction sites are the main drivers.
Based on grid connection requests submitted to Italian transmission system operator Terna, projects totaling 10,263 MW with signed connection contracts could require more than 10,260 hectares of land over the next 18 to 24 months.
The estimate falls to around 9,750 hectares when 515 MW of advanced agrivoltaic projects funded under Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan are excluded. A further 54,365 MW of projects have already received environmental approval.
According to ISPRA, standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) could also increase the amount of solar capacity that can be developed, with implications for land consumption. More than 9,600 MW of standalone storage has contracted grid connections, while around 76,000 MW has received connection approval.
Storage could reduce renewable energy curtailment and connection costs in areas where the grid is congested, potentially enabling additional solar development. The report does not provide an estimate of the land area that battery installations themselves would occupy.
The report also references Italian Constitutional Court ruling No. 127/2026, which upheld restrictions on ground-mounted solar installations in agricultural areas and described soil as a scarce resource.
ISPRA estimates that Italy has up to 1,116 square km of potentially usable rooftop space, which could accommodate between 140 GW and 193 GW of solar capacity without consuming additional land.
ISPRA also identifies the expansion of data centers, driven by demand for digital infrastructure and cloud services, as an emerging source of land consumption. Data center development accounted for an additional 13 hectares in 2025, mainly in Lombardy. In the Milan area, 39% of new projects were located on previously undeveloped land.
Wind power installations occupied 118 hectares in 2025. Of this area, 58% consisted of unpaved yards, 41% of unpaved roads and just over 1% of sealed surfaces associated with turbine foundations.
From pv magazine Italia
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