• Italy awards Zelestra 60 MW across eight solar projects in the FER X auction, with 80 percent located in the country’s industrial north
• Capacity comes alongside a 2 GWh BESS development and a 1.4 GW pipeline, strengthening the company’s multi-technology footprint
• All eight solar sites are scheduled for grid connection by end-H1 2028, supporting Italy’s energy system flexibility goals

Northern Italy strengthens its share of renewables capacity

Italy has awarded Zelestra contracts for 60 MW of new photovoltaic capacity through the FER X auction, confirming full approval for all eight projects submitted. National energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici released the results on 1 December 2025, placing Zelestra firmly among the most active developers advancing utility scale renewables across the region.

Eighty percent of the awarded portfolio sits in northern Italy, a market increasingly prioritised by system operators due to industrial load, grid saturation risks, and multi-technology project suitability. Zelestra aims to have all eight sites operational by the end of the first half of 2028. The auction received 818 bids equal to roughly 10 GW of photovoltaic proposals, underscoring the level of competition behind capacity allocation.

A year of acceleration for Zelestra in Italy

The approval arrives shortly after the company announced its first offtake arrangement for a 2 GWh battery energy storage system in the north of the country. Zelestra’s national pipeline now exceeds 1.4 GW across BESS and solar, positioning the company for large scale participation as Italy speeds deployment rates to meet national renewable targets.

Eliano Russo, Country Manager for Zelestra in Italy, described the FER X award as the close of an important year. In his words: “It has been a year of fast progress in Italy for Zelestra, and the FER X success means we are also finishing 2025 on a high. The new projects build on the two solar plants we are already constructing in Puglia and Sicily, broadens our geographical footprint into the Peninsula, and complements our multi-technology approach, with a major 2 GWh BESS project in the north of Italy also progressing well. We are aiming to progress quickly into the construction of the new projects, to ensure the new clean energy capacity is delivered swiftly.”

The company is expected to enter construction rapidly, a timeline consistent with national objectives to raise installed renewable capacity and reduce dependency on peaking thermal power. Developers are facing sharper scrutiny on grid readiness, permitting tempo, and balancing service capability. A combined pipeline spanning storage and generation offers higher flexibility in a power system facing variability and congestion challenges, notably in the northern industrial regions where load and grid constraint intersect most tightly.

Governance, funding capacity and energy transition relevance

Italy’s FER framework remains one of the country’s core instruments for renewable allocation, intended to bring volume online at predictable price levels while accommodating grid and market integration rules. The FER X round has drawn attention from international investors watching Italy’s balance of auction pricing, permitting reliability, and storage project inclusion.

The concentration of Zelestra’s awarded capacity in the north matters for corporate buyers, transmission operators, and investors looking for stable delivery environments. Italy continues to use auction programs to discipline cost, accelerate delivery, and shift development into areas of system need. Zelestra’s dual track across BESS and PV offers portfolio stability that may prove attractive in offtake negotiations and grid services contracting.

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What investors and executives will track

Execution speed is now the variable to watch. With commercial operation targeted by mid-2028, the market will assess Zelestra on permitting throughput, EPC contracting, supply chain sequencing, and the integration of its storage assets with new renewables. The ability to match buildout pace with long duration storage development could influence merchant exposure, PPA tenor, and revenue stack design.

Europe’s power markets are entering a period defined by storage ramp-up, higher solar penetration and regional grid constraints. Projects that blend technologies and deliver early have strategic weight, particularly in countries like Italy that bridge industrial load with Mediterranean irradiance.

The wider meaning beyond one auction outcome

Viewed globally, the FER X result forms part of a wider pattern. Governments are shifting toward competitive allocation to push scale at lower cost while strengthening grid resilience through storage. Investors continue to look for proven delivery capability and multi-vector portfolios. These eight projects take Zelestra deeper into that space.

Italy intends to accelerate renewable integration through the latter half of the decade. If the company meets its 2028 schedule while advancing its 2 GWh storage asset and broader pipeline, the award may mark not just added capacity but a platform for more complex market participation spanning flexibility services, corporate PPAs and resilience support.

The coming three years will determine whether Italy converts queue momentum into connected gigawatts. Zelestra now holds a material share in that story.

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