Italy May Delay Solar Tariff Cuts, Deutsche Bank Says

The Italian government may delay the introduction of a new bill reducing premium tariffs and spending targets for solar energy by three months, according to a Deutsche Bank AG analyst.

It is “very likely” that the state and regional authorities will postpone subsidy cuts by a few months when they meet to debate the bill later this month, said Vishal Shah, analyst at the bank, in a note to investors today. Three more months at current rates would allow 1.5 to 2 gigawatts in extra photovoltaic capacity to be added in Italy, he said.

Italy, the world’s largest solar market last year, plans to rein in a boom in solar installations spurred by feed-in tariffs, or premium rates for clean energy. Ministers presented a draft bill last month that would cut rates by as much as 36 percent and reduce the spending limit on the subsidies.

At a meeting last week, a government official said the state would likely agree to move the cuts to Oct. 1 instead of the current proposal for July 1, according to the analyst.

The decree is subject to modifications from the state- regions meetings and the energy regulator before being voted into law.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marc Roca in London at mroca6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Randall Hackley at rhackley@bloomberg.net