Italy ended 2025 with an energy picture marked by a strong expansion of photovoltaics which, however, failed to translate into an increase in total renewable generation.
This is reflected in the Relazione sulla situazione energya nazionale nel 2025 , published by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security in July 2026, which brings together data from Terna, GSE, ISPRA, ENEA and other organizations in the sector.
Installed renewable power reached 81.7 GW at the end of the year , compared to 74.5 GW in 2014. Growth was almost entirely driven by photovoltaics, which increased from 37 GW to 43.7 GW , while wind power advanced from 13 to 13.5 GW.
Hydropower remained virtually stable at 19.7 GW, while bioenergy declined slightly to 4 GW. Overall, green energy capacity was added at around 7.2 GW in a single year , of which approximately 6.7 GW was solar.
The increase in capacity had a direct impact on photovoltaic production. This technology generated 45 TWh during 2025, a 25% year-on-year increase compared to the 36 TWh of the previous year, reaching a new all-time high.
Solar power also became the main source within Italian renewable energy generation, with a 34% share, ahead of hydropower, which accounted for 32%.
However, that growth was not enough to offset the performance of the other technologies.
Hydroelectric production fell from 53.1 to 42 TWh , a reduction of 21%, after the exceptional performance recorded in 2024. Wind power also declined by 3.3%, to 21.6 TWh.
As a result, total renewable generation fell from 134.4 TWh in 2024 to 132.3 TWh in 2025 and its share of gross domestic electricity consumption decreased from 41.9% to 41%.
More thermal power generation despite photovoltaic advances
The decline of those two sources coincided with a recovery in conventional thermoelectric generation.
Italian electricity demand remained virtually stable at 312.3 TWh, just 0.1% above 2024 , but traditional thermal production increased by 5.2% and reached 141.8 TWh.
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The increase was concentrated mainly in natural gas. Ministry data shows that the country's total gas demand grew by 2% during the year, to 63.4 billion cubic meters (bcm), driven especially by a 4.2% increase in consumption by the thermoelectric sector .
Within thermal generation, gas-fired power plants accounted for 46.3% of thermoelectric production and increased their output by 7% compared to the previous year.
The result highlights one of the main challenges of the Italian transition: the rapid growth of solar capacity still coexists with a high sensitivity of the electricity mix to the variability of other renewable sources.
At the end of 2025, the system had a total installed capacity of 145.9 GW . Of that figure, 62.4 GW corresponded to thermoelectric power plants, while standalone storage systems reached only 1.8 GW , equivalent to 1.2% of the total.
The expansion of renewable energy also failed to translate into sufficient growth in electricity demand to absorb the new volumes. Consumption remained almost unchanged at 293.1 TWh: it increased by 1.8% in commerce and services and 1.2% in transportation, but decreased by 1% in both industry and the residential sector.
Meanwhile, Italy reduced its dependence on electricity imports. Domestic production covered 85% of demand , while net imports fell by 8.1% to 46.9 TWh.
The growth of renewable energy continued to mobilize significant investments. The report estimates that around €7.3 billion was allocated to new renewable electricity projects in 2025, although this figure was slightly lower than that recorded in 2024.
Photovoltaics accounted for approximately €6.3 billion , compared to €874 million allocated to new wind power capacity. The construction and installation of these assets mobilized around 43,000 full-time equivalent work units, while the operation and maintenance of existing parks supported more than 37,000.
Despite a temporary drop in green energy production, renewables increased their penetration within the overall Italian energy system. Under the accounting criteria of the RED II Directive, their share of total energy consumption reached 20.2% in 2025 .
The data thus sends a double signal for the Italian market: photovoltaic deployment continues to accelerate and already dominates both new investments and capacity additions, but the performance of hydropower, wind power, storage and demand will continue to be crucial for this growth to allow a sustained reduction in the use of gas-fired generation.