Photovoltaic roofs in Europe: France and Lithuania the most committed to support
Which countries are more committed to the spread and facilitation of photovoltaic roofs in Europe? The question is answered by the new report of CAN Europe and eco-union, an update of the document originally published in 2022. Two years later, things seem quite different, and mostly for the better. The eleven nations observed – including Italy – have in most cases raised the bar of commitment, exceeding by 19 points the overall result of 2022.
This growth is hardly surprising considering that the energy crisis triggered by the Russian war in Ukraine has acted as a lever for the spread of residential renewable technologies. But the report goes into detail by providing a complete overview of the current state of domestic photovoltaic roofs in Europe and highlighting the successes and steps back.
Seven key areas
The work carried out by the two associations has awarded each country a score in seven key areas: governance, incentives and support programs, authorization procedures, energy sharing and collective consumption and energy communities, together with any additional measures implemented (such as the introduction of smart meters in households).
The evaluation system “is based on a qualitative approach used for communication purposes that incorporates the input and perceptions of the national CAN Europe organizations that participated in the report, with some adjustments to ensure comparability and balance between national profiles. In any event, it does not attempt to establish objective quantitative comparability in the performance of the Member States analysed. It takes as a reference the scores of the report published in May 2022. Therefore, progress towards a better score should be the general rule in most countries. However, in some cases, regression is possible”.
Photovoltaic roofs in Italy: good but not very good
It turns out that Italy, thanks to a new regulatory framework oriented to energy consumption, has improved its score. In detail, Italy went from 16 points in 2022 to 18 in 2024. In terms of commitment, it is behind France (20 points) and Lithuania (19), on a par with Greece.
Among the tools put in place to increase the share of solar roofs in Italy must of course mention tax deductions and investment subsidies, together with a process of simplification of the permits that have benefited residential photovoltaic systems. Moreover, decrees like the one on renewable energy communities now offer new growth prospects for solar on a small scale.
But there are also downsides, starting from the lack of specificity in the PNIEC on some key aspects such as volumes for rooftop photovoltaic systems. Or the great chaos created by tax deductions for construction. The document also considers that further measures are needed in terms of funding training programmes for installers and administrative staff, and the design of public awareness campaigns showing the benefits and potential of solar photovoltaics to accelerate their adoption.