Source: PV-Magazine                                                                                                                                                Date: 31. MAY 2011

German photovoltaic company expects solar sales potential in the "high double-digit million range" as it approaches 20 megawatts (MW) of installation in Italy.

Gehrlicher Solar, with its headquarters in Germany’s south, announced today that it is set to install 20 MW of ground based solar power plants and rooftop systems across the Alps in Italy, in the next few months. It has already completed ground installations worth four MW and rooftop systems worth 1.7 MW in northern and central Italian regions including Abruzzo and Parma.

With an eye to the reduced feed-in tariff rates effective September first, a further three solar parks in Lombardy and in the Emilia-Romagna region will have been completed before the crucial date. Gehrlicher’s technical director of ground mounted systems Gerald Kumerie said that soon grid parity in some regions of Italy will have been achieved. "In southern Italy we will soon be speaking of a natural market," explained Kumerie. "We can then produce electricity from the sun at a cost level equal to traditional electricity."

Despite the reduced Italian FIT scheme, to come into affect in only a matter of months, the company remained upbeat about photovoltaic opportunities there. Gehrlicher’s Tim Jungblut added: "Even beyond that date we see great opportunities in this country. By the end of 2011, we are expecting sales potential in the high double-digit million range."