cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6163809
- Italy completes first solar auction excluding Chinese gear
- Average price 17% above ordinary renewable auction
- Auction backs EU push to cut reliance on Chinese components
Italy awarded more than 1.1 gigawatts of capacity to 88 projects in its first auction exclusively for solar projects built without equipment manufactured in China, setting an average price of 66.38 euros per megawatt hour.
The tariff is 17% higher than the average price for a renewable auction earlier this year that had no restrictions on equipment origin, according to data from Italy’s electricity services agency (GSE).
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The auction is among the first in Europe to apply non-price criteria linked to the European Union’s Net-Zero Industry Act, a package of measures that aims to curb reliance on low-cost renewable components from China.
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17% extra isn’t much, especially if the manufacturing is within the EU, where it could be seen as an investment.
It’s not zero either. I wish the real “savings” of relying on final products imports would be more quantified like this. It might not be worth it, sometimes.
But then, how much of that supply chain is china-free, once you go past the first level of the bill of materials.
17% is cheap, considering you have local resources when the panels fail or get storm damaged.