Most operating plants that come to market in Italy today were built under the country's current support schemes: FER X, earlier GSE auction schemes, renewable energy community tariffs or agrivoltaic support measures. Each gives the plant a long-term contract with the GSE, the state-owned company that manages renewable incentives. For investors, the contract is usually the single most important document in the data room.
What FER X is
FER X is Italy's support scheme for mature renewable technologies, including solar PV. It was first introduced with a transitional regime in 2025, followed by the definitive decree, which entered into force on 7 August 2026 and runs until the end of 2030.
Plants up to 1 MW access the scheme directly, while larger plants compete in GSE auctions. The support takes the form of a two-way contract for difference lasting 20 years from the plant's entry into operation.
How the contract works
A two-way contract for difference fixes a reference price, known as the strike price. When the market price is below the strike price, the GSE pays the producer the difference. When the market price is above it, the producer pays the difference back.
How the plant sells its energy depends on its size. Plants below 200 kW sell their energy to the GSE at an all-inclusive tariff. Above that threshold, the producer keeps and sells its own energy on the market, and the GSE settles the difference against the strike price.
For a buyer, this means a FER X plant trades most of its power price upside for protection on the downside. Value depends less on power price forecasts and more on the strike price, the plant's actual production and its operating costs.
What to check on a FER X plant
- The GSE contract. Strike price, start date, the capacity it covers and any premiums or adjustments applied.
- Settlement history. Payments received from and returned to the GSE, and how energy sales are handled for plants above 200 kW: directly on the market or through a trader or offtaker.
- Eligibility requirements. The declarations made to access the scheme, including permits, the qualification or auction documents and the technical requirements for components. A mismatch can lead the GSE to reduce or revoke the incentive.
- Capital grants. If the plant also received a capital grant, check the cumulation rules and any obligations attached to the grant.
- Market zone. The Italian market zone where the plant sits affects both market sales and capture prices.
- Hours outside the mechanism. Check how the contract treats hours with very low or negative prices and what that means for expected revenue.
Other incentives you may find
Earlier GSE auction schemes
Plants that won earlier GSE auctions or registers hold long-term contracts under the rules of those schemes. The same questions apply: tariff or strike price, residual term and compliance with the requirements declared at the time.
Renewable energy community tariffs
Plants that belong to a renewable energy community (CER) or other collective self-consumption schemes can receive a 20-year premium tariff on the energy shared within the community. For a buyer, the membership rules of the community and the contracts between the plant owner and the community matter as much as the tariff itself.
Agrivoltaic support
Innovative agrivoltaic plants can combine a capital grant with an incentive tariff. These plants carry agricultural obligations that must be maintained for the whole incentive period, including continued farming and monitoring. Check who is responsible for them after the sale.
Merchant and PPA plants
Plants without incentives sell on the market, through the GSE's dedicated withdrawal scheme for smaller plants, or under a PPA. Here value depends on the PPA's price, term and counterparty, or on your own power price assumptions.
Transferring the incentive
In a share deal the SPV remains the counterparty of the GSE contract, so the incentive continues unchanged. In an asset deal the change of ownership must go through the GSE procedure for transferring the contract to the new owner. Either way, the end date of the contract stays the same.
After the contract ends
When the incentive period ends, the plant keeps producing and sells its energy on the market or under a PPA. Well-maintained plants can run for 30 years or more, which is why the duration of the land right deserves as much attention as the GSE contract.
Looking for FER X or other incentivised plants? Submit your acquisition criteria, including the incentive schemes you prefer, and we will send matching plants under NDA.