Friuli-Venezia Giulia: authorisation granted for power plants totalling 569 MW
Since 2021, 1,003 MW of capacity has been installed in the region: this represents 51 per cent of the 2030 target, but the regional plan envisages more
The targets set for Friuli-Venezia Giulia by the Ministry of the Environment’s ‘Suitable Areas’ decree – which has allocated the national 2030 target of 80 GW of additional capacity from renewable sources, compared with 31 December 2020, amongst the regions and autonomous provinces – amount to 1,960 MW of new green capacity to be installed between January 2021 and December 2030. The update on the situation, compiled by the Energy Transition Service – the body responsible for issuing single energy authorisations across the region – for *Il Sole 24 Ore*, indicates that the Region has authorised photovoltaic capacity (ground-mounted plants) totalling 1,232.5 MW as at 20 July 2026 (the provisional figure for the first few months of the year is 166.5), with a further 569 MW currently undergoing the authorisation process.
In Terna’s latest report on the electricity system, the net change in installed capacity from January 2021 to July 2026 in Friuli-Venezia Giulia amounts to 1,003 MW out of a target of 689 (a target determined by reference to the regional allocation set out in the Ministerial Decree on ‘Suitable Areas’, with the additional capacity forecast for the current year being reallocated on a monthly basis). These figures indicate that the target has not only been met but exceeded by 314 MW. Friuli-Venezia Giulia is, in fact, among the group of regions which – according to Terna’s latest update – are currently installing capacity at a rate that is on track with or ahead of the schedule. The installed capacity achieved so far represents 51 per cent of the 2030 target and 130 per cent of the interim target for December 2026, set at 772 MW.
‘Taking into account the capacity already authorised and that currently under review, it seems reasonable to expect that the Pniec target (the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan, i.e. the instrument through which Italia pursues the European objectives of decarbonisation, energy efficiency and the development of renewables, ed.) by 2030”, explain officials at the Regional Government: “Historically, it has been observed that, on average, two years elapse between the granting of the single authorisation and the start of operations. Of the authorised but not yet built plants, 953 MW still need to be started and completed. If all of these were to be built by 2030, the target would be met.”
The facilities
It is worth noting a number of authorised plants linked to specific uses, such as (in 2025) the Trieste Hydrogen Hub: this is the region’s first green hydrogen production plant, with an electrolyser capacity of 5 MW and a connected 4.8 MW photovoltaic system, currently undergoing testing. In 2026, the Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste centre began work on the construction of the Green Energy photovoltaic plant in a disused quarry that is undergoing environmental restoration. The plant will cover part of the electricity consumption of the international research centre, which, since 2024, has had to halve the number of its projects due to the sharp rise in the cost of electricity. Work has already begun.
Given that there are projects totalling 569 MW currently undergoing the authorisation process, if all of them were to be approved and the authorised parties were to complete the construction of the plants, it is easy to see how the 2030 target could be exceeded.
