Italy solar incentives seen in April

MILAN, ITALY: Italian Industry Ministry Undersecretary Stefano Saglia said he expected Italy's new solar incentives to be presented in April after a regional vote, adding the scheme would be one of the most generous in Europe.

Technical details of the new incentive plan have been agreed by the Industry, Environment and Culture ministries but were still awaiting approval from the state body overseeing relations between central government and regions, he said.

"I hope that the conference will be called immediately after elections... as soon as April," Saglia told reporters on Thursday on the sidelines of a conference.

He said that a planned reduction in incentives for the solar energy sector "will be slightly below the reduction in solar panel costs".

Saglia declined to give more details on the incentive cut but said that Italy's new incentives will remain "the most generous in Europe".

Under the new plan, new installed solar capacity covered by incentives will be capped at 3,000 Megawatt over a period of three years, he said.