Technical and economic approach to aim the feasibility of renewables in the Italian context

To date, despite the existence of the sustainability goals of the 2030 Agenda and the need for an energy transition, the results set is still quite far away from being achieved. The awareness of this situation moves many European countries to promote policies based on the use of renewable sources. This paper is aimed at illustrating the Italian legislative context, evaluating the effectiveness of the introduced incentives, according to parameters that affect the productivity of a photovoltaic system. It is also aimed at helping to bridge the gap linked to the relationship between incentives and energy transition, also with regard to renewables. The research focuses on an evaluation methodology, based on technical and economic standards and it is accompanied by a case-study. In order to analyze the productivity of the photovoltaic system, all the main input factors that could affect the technical and economic performance of the system were investigated. In particular, solar potential analysis, shading elements, installation place, azimuth, tilt of modules and technology. For the economic valuations, the discounted cash flow method was used. The results obtained show that some Italian regions, particularly those in the north, should prefer other forms of renewables, such as hydroelectric and geothermal, and that the FER1 decree is not suitable for the promotion of solar photovoltaics in some areas. The research shows also that policies on renewables should be calibrated according to the intrinsic features of the place where they are located and have to be related to the built heritage they will interface, in the light of technological and plant system aspects. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10098-023-02497-0.