Italy Connects 4.83 GW of Solar in Nine Months of 2026, Reaching 48.35 GW Cumulative

Italy connected 4.83 GW of new solar capacity between January and September 2026, across 147,632 new systems, raising its cumulative photovoltaic capacity to 48.35 GW spread over 2,314,113 installations as of September 30, according to the analysis by the Italia Solare association based on grid operator Terna's Gaudì database, released on October 23.

The figure is 18% higher than the 4.08 GW connected in the same period of 2025, though with fewer systems, 161,962 then versus 147,632 now. The gap shows that the average connection grew in size: utility-scale projects contributed 2.24 GW across 473 installations (nearly 46% of the total), the commercial and industrial segment added 1.70 GW across 11,905 installations (35%), and the residential segment of up to 20 kW contributed 897 MW across 135,254 systems (19%), according to Quotidiano Energia.

In the third quarter of 2026, Italy connected 1.74 GW, 5% more than the 1.65 GW of the second quarter and 37% above the 1.27 GW of the third quarter of 2025. Installations of 1 MW or more reached 858 MW, versus 457 MW a year earlier, an increase of 88%. Storage is keeping pace with the buildout: connected battery capacity reached 19.98 GWh and 8.34 GW cumulative, with 1.95 GWh and 907 MW added in the first nine months, according to pv magazine.

For the region, the Italian figure serves as a pace benchmark: it shows how much new capacity arrives in utility-scale blocks and how much depends on small installations, a mix that also defines the pressure on the distribution grid and interconnection substations. In Mexico, the Ministry of Energy keeps solar projects awaiting capacity allocation in the power system. The next reference point will be Terna's year-end report in January 2027 and the pace of storage, whose quarterly connection rate fell 5% versus the second quarter.

This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.