• Italy awards up to 108 MW of new solar capacity in Sicily under its FER X support scheme, reinforcing national decarbonization and energy security goals.
• Zelestra now holds roughly 168 MW of FER X-backed solar capacity after two auctions in December, strengthening its position in one of Europe’s fastest-growing renewables markets.
• The award supports Italy’s wider push to build domestic clean-tech capability and scale grid resilience alongside large battery storage investments.
Italy’s second FER X auction has delivered a major boost to the country’s solar pipeline, with Zelestra securing a contract for a photovoltaic project in Sicily with capacity of up to 108 MW. The award marks the largest project in the company’s Italian portfolio to date and cements its rapid expansion in one of Europe’s most strategically important clean energy markets.
The contract follows closely on Zelestra’s success in the first FER X auction earlier this month, where it secured eight solar projects totalling around 60 MW. Taken together, the two rounds position the company among the most active developers benefiting from Italy’s flagship renewable support mechanism as the country accelerates its energy transition.
FER X As A Pillar Of Italy’s Energy Strategy
The FER X auction framework has become a central policy tool for Italy as it seeks to balance decarbonisation, energy security, and industrial competitiveness. Designed to provide long-term revenue certainty for renewable developers, the scheme aims to scale clean power capacity while reducing exposure to volatile fossil fuel imports.
Zelestra’s newly awarded Sicilian project is expected to contribute directly to these objectives, adding utility-scale solar capacity in southern Italy, a region with strong irradiation and growing grid relevance. Beyond generation, the company says its projects support local value creation and the strengthening of Europe’s clean-tech ecosystem by enabling industrial-scale deployment and supply chain development.
The auction results also underline Italy’s role in the wider European energy transition, where governments are increasingly using competitive support mechanisms to crowd in private capital while keeping costs under control for consumers and taxpayers.
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Rapid Expansion Of Zelestra’s Italian Portfolio
Italy has emerged as one of Zelestra’s fastest-growing markets. The company now holds a combined pipeline of more than 1.4 GW across battery energy storage systems and solar projects nationwide. This includes plans that extend beyond generation into grid stability and flexibility, areas that are becoming critical as renewable penetration rises.
Earlier this year, Zelestra announced an initial offtake agreement for a large-scale 2 GWh battery energy storage system in northern Italy. Once built, the project is expected to rank among the largest battery storage assets in Europe, reinforcing Italy’s capacity to integrate variable renewable power while improving grid resilience.
The combination of FER X-backed solar projects and utility-scale storage highlights a broader shift in Italy’s energy market, where policymakers and investors are prioritising assets that support system reliability alongside emissions reduction.
Industry Perspective And Next Steps
Eliano Russo, Zelestra’s Country Manager in Italy, highlighted the significance of the latest auction results for both the company and the national energy agenda.
“FER X is proving to be a powerful instrument to accelerate Italy’s clean energy transition and strengthen the country’s industrial competitiveness. We now await with anticipation the definitive FER X. To deliver two successful auction results in the space of a fortnight is a credit to the hard work that the Zelestra team in Italy has been delivering for many years to have the projects fully developed and ready to submit. It has been a very successful year for Zelestra in Italy, and we look forward to work starting on the ground on all these projects next year,” Russo said.
Construction on the newly awarded projects is expected to begin next year, subject to final regulatory approvals and grid connection processes. For investors and policymakers, the outcome reinforces confidence in Italy’s auction-based approach to scaling renewables, at a time when energy security and industrial policy are increasingly intertwined.
As Europe pushes to meet its 2030 climate targets, projects such as Zelestra’s Sicily solar plant illustrate how national support schemes can translate policy ambition into bankable infrastructure with regional and continental impact.
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