Italy starts consultation on incentive scheme for geothermal heating
Geothermal path at Biancane Natural Park, Tuscany/ Italy (source: visittuscany.com)
Carlo Cariaga
3 Apr 2025
The consultation period has started for FER-T, a Ministerial Decree in Italy that aims for an incentive mechanism for renewable heating, including geothermal.
As announced by the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE), consultation is currently ongoing for Italy’s FER-T Ministerial Decree, which will set a new incentive mechanism for large-scale energy projects from renewable thermal sources, including geothermal. Comments, observations, and recommendations from stakeholders and other interested parties can be sent until 21 April 2025.
The FER-T decree supports the production of thermal energy from renewable sources for plants with thermal power generation capacity of more than 2 MWth. There are four thermal energy sources considered under FER-T:
- Geothermal energy
- Solar thermal energy
- Bioenergy
- Environmental energy
New, upgraded, or renovated systems are eligible to receive these incentives.
“The competitive incentive mechanism, complementary to the Thermal Account, aims to increase the production of large-scale plants and achieve the national decarbonisation objectives for 2030 outlined in the PNIEC,” said Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister for the Environment.
The FER-T represents a much-needed follow up to the FER 2 decree, approved in late 2024, which sets tariffs for electricity produced from geothermal energy sources. It also addresses some of the criticisms from the geothermal sector regarding the FER 2 and the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), which did not highlight the potential role of geothermal for the heating and cooling sector.
During the recently concluded Italian Geothermal Forum, many representatives stated the importance of strategy and vision for starting a resurgence of geothermal growth in Italy.
Source: Energia Nest and GreenReport.it
