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In Italy, solar power plants and photovoltaic systems in factories and shopping centers are increasing, but the installation of solar panels on homes is decreasing. Lombardy is the first region in terms of installed power, followed by Sicily and then Veneto. Overall, solar is growing in our country, driven by industrial investments, but the slowdown in the domestic sector is a problem that must be addressed. The picture is drawn by research by Italia Solare, the association for the promotion of photovoltaics, which examined Terna’s data as of 30 June this year.
On that date, 2,255,654 photovoltaic systems were connected in Italy, for a total power of 46,606 Megawatts. In the first six months of the year, 3,093 MW of new power were connected, for a total of 89,173 new plants. The comparison with the first half of 2025 shows that the residential increase fell from 725 to 556 Megawatts, with a contraction of 23%. Commercial and Industrial (CI) increased from 946 to 1,154 Mw, or 22%, while utility scale (power plants) went from 1,137 to 1,383 Mw, also a growth of 22%.
The data for the first half of the year show a photovoltaic market increasingly concentrated in medium and large-sized systems. C&I and utility scale growth offsets the decline in residential. «But the downsizing of systems intended for families – warns Italia Solare – must not be underestimated».
In the first half of the year, Lombardy ranked first in terms of new connected photovoltaic power, with 470 MW, followed very closely by Sicily, with 469 MW. Followed by Veneto with 306 MW, Emilia-Romagna with 305 MW, Piedmont with 286 MW, Puglia with 218 MW and Lazio with 215 MW. Lombardy also leads the ranking in terms of number of new systems, with 13,820 connections, followed by Veneto with 11,233, Emilia-Romagna with 8,039 and Sicily with 7,146.
Electrochemical storage is also growing in Italy, i.e. batteries that store the energy of renewables at peak times and release it at times of standstill. As of June 30, 2026, these storage systems have reached a cumulative capacity of 19,334 MWh, a power of 7,983 MW and an overall number of 943,797 plants.
In the first half of 2026, 1,350 MWh of new capacity were connected, of which 914 MWh associated with grid-based photovoltaic systems and 436 MWh associated with “stand-alone” systems, i.e. autonomous and not connected to the grid. Regarding only photovoltaic systems on the network, Lombardy leads the ranking in the first half of the year, with 122 MWh of new capacity, followed by Emilia-Romagna with 109 MWh, Sicily with 103 MWh and Veneto with 97 MWh. Lombardy is also first in power, with 66 MW, and in the number of connected units, equal to 8,818. Followed by number of installations are Veneto with 6,698 systems and Emilia-Romagna with 5,659.