|
With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Italy's on-again, off-again 10,000 roofs program, victimized by
chronic bureaucracy and regional irregularities, is again facing a
doubtful future. With the Ministry of Environment distancing itself
from the program, other forces are being mobilized to push for a
feed-in tariff by mid-2004.
 |
|
|
 |
©
Saint-Gobain Glass Solar |
|
Troubled waters: With Environment Minister
Matteoli calling Italy much too beautiful for PV, will
installations like this one in Bressanone help bridge the
gap? |
|
|
PV has always had its detractors. State treasurers
deride the cost; fossil fuel-friendly energy ministers knock the
technology. But in Italy, PV's foremost enemy seems to be the
country's chief environmentalist. »[Solar panels] are ugly to look
at,« Altero Matteoli, environment minister in the center-right
government of Silvio Berlusconi, told the weekly news magazine
L'Espresso on Nov. 11. He lambasted solar as an unsightly blight on
cities and tourist areas: »Italy is much too beautiful a country for
these things.«
Such statements do nothing to bolster confidence in the country's
fledgling PV market. Although no one says so out loud, Italy's 10,000
PV roofs program, begun in March 2001 by Matteoli's own Ministry of
Environment (MdA), may already be dead. First, the program's
originator, Gianni Silvestrini, was fired from the MdA in mid-August (see
PI 10/2002, p. 14). Then none of the MdA higher-ups even made a cameo
appearance at October's »PV in Europe« conference in Rome. One could
almost hear the program's death knell. Even in the best of times, it
had sputtered along to the exasperation of the Italian PV industry.
Bureaucratic delays were acute, with financial control spread among 20
regions, most of which continue to have differing views on how to
administer the program.
With initial demand ten times the available resources, the result was
»inevitable delays,« admits Antonio Martusciello, the MdA's
undersecretary. So far, he says, the roofs program was expected to
generate 3 MW of installed PV by the end of 2002, and another 10 MW in
2003. But Emiliano Fioravanti, head of the Italian PV industry
association (GIFI), calculates that less than 2 MW was installed in
2002. Unimpressed with Martusciello's claim of »quicker procedures«
for the next tenders, Fioravanti predicts no more than 6 MW this year.
That's why everyone seems to be pinning PV hopes on a feed-in tariff
of about €0.45 ($0.45) per kilowatt-hour, guaranteed for 15 to 20
years and capped at 150 MW. Ironically, one of its biggest promoters
is Silvestrini, who, while at the MdA, fervently backed the 10,000
roofs program much to Fioravanti's frustration (see PI 8/2002, p. 18).
Now outside the ministry, Silvestrini is trying to put together a
coalition of pro-renewable legislators who will push a feed-in tariff
amendment to an energy bill introduced in September. Silvestrini hopes
to have about 150 parliamentarians from the ruling party and the
opposition -- just over 15 percent of the lower house, the Chamber of
Deputies, and the Senate -- on board by the second half of January,
when a press conference would be called. Ideally, the coalition would
spearhead parliamentary approval of the feed-in tariff by February or
March. Then the national public utilities commission, the Authority
for Electricity and Gas (ominously known as »the Authority«), would
have several months to work on its implementation. Silvestrini thinks
a tariff funded through a surcharge on monthly electric bills could
start in mid-summer. An alternative is the MdA approach of offering
grants and soft loans, a tactic requiring European Commission (EC)
approval – but this might take until mid-2004. Martusciello declined
to discuss details, but Silvestrini says that »to be on the safe side,«
he expects both paths to be pursued.
No clear picture of investment
GIFI's Fioravanti calls the EC route »a very strange approach,« saying
that a surcharge could not be considered state aid and would therefore
not fall under EC jurisdiction. As for soft loans, he thinks that
given a »clear picture« of investment via a feed-in tariff, banks
would flock to provide customers with financial support. In addition,
Fioravanti foresees extra money being made available by the regions
outside of the MdA program. »The feed-in tariff is the only way to
solve the problem now,« he says -- especially if PV is to help with
Italy's goal of 200 to 300 MW of electricity from renewables by
between 2008 and 2012.
For now, the roofs program survives on the hope provided by the second
regional tenders, most of which are to be published in the next few
months. Beyond that, the picture gets fuzzy. »It's very hard for a PV
company to make the necessary investments when you know you will have
support this year but are not sure about the next,« complains
Fioravanti. In addition, says Gerardo Capilupo, executive manager of
the start-up module manufacturer Solaris srl, the program is so
sporadic that whenever business picks up, »everybody tries to sell by
putting the module price lower and lower.« Instead of a »reasonable«
€4 ($3.98) per watt, he has to beat €3 ($2.98): »It's harmful for
the Italian market.«
For now, everyone seems to be betting on the introduction of a feed-in
tariff to save that market. But, as Fioravanti points out, no one is
sure what kind of political will exists for its creation. It would
require an increase – however small – on ratepayers' bills, not
something national politicians may want to be caught supporting. »And
to be honest,« Fioravanti admits, »PV is not at the top of their list
of worries.«
|
|
