Key takeaways from Italy’s KEY trade show

This year’s KEY – The Energy Transition Expo, Europe’s second-largest solar trade show, highlighted the rapid growth of Italy’s PV market and its expanding international reach.

pv magazine News Director Emiliano Bellini and pv magazine Editor Lara Morandotti moderated a session on energy storage at the KEY event in Rimini, Italy.

Image: pv magazine

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From pv magazine Italy

More than 1,000 exhibitors attended KEY – The Energy Transition Expo in Rimini, northern Italy, from March 5 to March 8, marking a 20% increase from last year, with international exhibitors making up 30% of the total.

“We have seen the number of Spanish and British visitors is increasing, but also those from the African continent,” a spokesperson from International Exhibition Group Spa, the fair organizer, told pv magazine. “Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the ICE Agency, to the collaboration with the most important associations in the sector and to a network of agents spread throughout the world, the fair features 1,000 brands, of which 30% are international, approximately 350 hosted buyers and delegations from more than 50 countries, with North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and Eastern Europe being the most represented areas.”

Policy updates

On the first day of the event, pv magazine reporters Lara Morandotti and Massimiliano Tripodo interviewed Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who disclosed key details on the new provisions for renewables under the so-called “Fer X” decree and the Macse auction mechanism for large-scale batteries.

Fratin said the Fer X framework will include at least two renewables auctions, with the first set to take place within a couple of months. Officials at the fair also confirmed that the Macse auction will be held on Sept. 30.

Most Chinese and international manufacturers of inverters, modules, and trackers, including non-tier-1 companies and many new entrants, attended the event. This broader participation shows the event is moving beyond its national focus and gaining international relevance.

“I think this event is now becoming a sort of second Intersolar, which gives us the chance of presenting our products for a global client base,” said a spokesperson from one PV manufacturer.

Storage role

The main difference from previous editions is the strong presence of storage players and manufacturers, driven by rapid market growth in Italy, especially due to the capacity market and the long-anticipated Macse auction. In a session hosted by Italy’s industrial association ANIE Federazione and moderated by pv magazine, Francesco Del Pizzo, director of strategies for Network Development and Dispatching at grid operator Terna, said he expects the Macse auction to be “extremely” competitive, with prices likely to drop at least 20% from the ceiling.

Del Pizzo called the storage market “surprising,” noting it “reacted above the best expectations,” rising from virtually no demand to 250 GW of requests in the past two years. He said Terna has signed connection contracts for 2 GW of fully authorized plants and has 13 GW of projects in advanced stages of authorization, with technical connection work validated.

Regarding the first Macse auction, Del Pizzo said that while the ministry has set a target of 10 GWh, about 9 GWh are eligible for the first round out of the 13.5 GWh authorized as of February 28. He said the offer is “particularly mature” and highlighted the accelerating pace of the permitting process. “It will be a particularly competitive auction,” he said, adding that prices could fall more than 20%.

Del Pizzo said he expects a price distribution in the Macse auction that will not be completely uniform, with a downward trend driven by ordinary competitive dynamics and, above all, by a significant compression in the cost of capital. “With equal capital returns, the resulting price is considerably lower,” he said. Asked whether foreign financiers might stay on the sidelines, Del Pizzo said, “I don't think it will be like that.”

On future incentive mechanisms and long-term instruments, Del Pizzo said the capacity market, as currently defined, will complete its role in 2028. He said a final auction will follow the first Macse round, taking into account the auction results and Macse’s contribution, after which Italy will assess whether to adopt a new capacity mechanism or revise the existing one.

“At the moment we believe there is a need for an overall holistic vision and that the capacity market requires reflection now that we have other long-term instruments,” he said.

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