The European Commission has approved a €23 billion Italian State aid scheme to support electricity production from renewable energy sources, in line with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal. This measure will contribute to the transition towards a net-zero economy and to reaching the renewable energy target set at EU level for 2030. The scheme was approved under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) adopted by the Commission on 25 June 2025.
Italy notified to the Commission, under the CISAF, a €23 billion scheme to support electricity production from renewable energy sources.
The scheme will support the construction of installations that generate electricity using onshore wind, solar power, hydropower, and sewage gas. The plants are expected to add a total of 37.15 GW of renewable electricity capacity, which represents around 48% of current RES capacity in Italy. This scheme will significantly contribute to Italy’s decarbonisation objective of reaching 39.4% of gross final energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2030. It will reduce electricity prices and reduce the Union’s dependency on energy imports, in line with the objectives set out in the Clean Industrial Deal and in the REPowerEU plan.
The aid will take the form of variable payments under two-way contracts for difference (‘CfDs’) that provide a bonus for each kWh of electricity produced and fed into the grid, based on a so-called strike price. If electricity market prices are lower than the strike price, the State will pay the difference. If they are higher, the companies will pay back the difference. The CfDs will be in place for a period of 20 years.
The aid will be granted on the basis of a transparent and non-discriminatory bidding process, where beneficiaries will bid on the strike price needed to carry out each individual project.
The Italian authorities will organise a separate competitive procedure for solar and wind technologies with capacity over 1 MW, where applicants will have to respect additional pre-selection Net Zero Industry Act criteria designed in line with Regulation EU 2024/1735 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1176.
Plants with capacity lower than 1 MW can benefit from the scheme directly, without participating in a bidding process. In this case, the strike price is administratively set by the Italian energy regulator (Autorità di regolazione per energia reti e ambiente).
The €23 billion budget of the scheme is based on market price estimates, and actual net support may be considerably lower in case of higher-than-expected market prices.
The Commission found that the Italian scheme meets the conditions of the CISAF (sections 3 and 4.1.2). In particular, the support will be provided as direct price support, through a two-way CfD, awarded via a competitive bidding process. The measure includes safeguards to ensure markets function properly and avoid compensating producers when market prices are negative.
The Commission concluded that the Italian scheme is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to accelerate the clean transition and facilitate the development of certain economic activities, which are of importance for the implementation of the Clean Industrial Deal, in line with Article 107(3)(c) Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the conditions set out in the CISAF.
On this basis, the Commission approved the Italian measure under EU State aid rules.
