How to get a discount on the cost of solar panels for your Italian property – The Local Italy
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Solar panels are an understandably popular choice in Italy, and if you’re thinking of installing them on your own home there’s funding available to help lower the cost. Here’s what you need to know.
As utility bills rise, more home and business owners in Italy are looking at installing solar panels as a possible way to reduce costs in the long term.
Solar panels are already hugely popular in Italy, with the nation ranking top worldwide for solar-powered electricity consumption.
READ ALSO: Who can claim a discount on energy bills in Italy?
And no wonder: it’s a solid bet in a country where there is sunshine in abundance. But what about the costs of installation?
The good news is that there’s financial help available from Italy’s national government aimed at encouraging uptake of solar energy, as well as other incentives from regional authorities in many parts of the country.
It’s in the government’s interest to incentivise solar power, as Italy has vowed to transition to greener energy with its National Integrated Plan for Energy and Climate (Piano Nazionale Integrato per l’Energia e il Clima 2030 or PNIEC).
So how could this benefit you? Here’s a look at what you can claim at both a national and a regional level.
Regional funding for installing solar panels
As well as the national government subsidies available for covering the cost of solar panel installation, some regions have introduced their own bonuses or discount schemes.
The sunny southern region of Puglia and the wealthy northern region of Lombardy have seen the highest number of residential photovoltaic systems installed, according to market research.
it’s not surprising, then, that these two regions’ governments are offering cash incentives to help cover the cost of installing solar panels.
Depending on the type of system you opt for, you could expect to pay between around €5,000 and €13,000 for installation, design, labour and paperwork.
To contribute to this initial outlay, the local authority in Puglia has created a pot to help homeowners on lower incomes move towards renewable energy.
READ ALSO: What you need to know about installing solar panels on your home in Italy
Newly introduced in 2022, the so-called Reddito energetico (energy income) offers households with an annual income below €20,000 a bonus of up to €8,500 for installing photovoltaic, solar thermal or micro-wind systems in their homes.
The bonus is intended for residents who have citizenship of an EU country or, if you are a citizen of a non-EU country, you can still claim the bonus if you have been resident for at least one year in a municipality in Puglia.
The €20,000 annual income refers to a household’s ISEE – an indicator of household wealth calculated based on earnings and other factors.
For this particular scheme, if you claim this bonus from the authorities in Puglia, it precludes you from also claiming funds at national level concurrently – such as through the popular superbonus 110 home renovation fund (see below for more on this).
Although there are other government bonuses, such as the renovation bonus (bonus ristrutturazione) that offers a much higher maximum total expenditure of €96,000, it can only be claimed as a 50 percent tax deduction spread over 10 years in your tax return.
For lower income families in Puglia, this may not be as cost effective as the grant from the regional authorities, which may equate to more money towards the cost and supply of solar panels.
For more information and to apply for Puglia’s renewable energy bonus, see here.
Lombardy is also stumping up funds to continue the solar power momentum experienced in the region.
While the coffers for private properties are currently closed, the region has made funds available for those with small and medium-sized businesses – again, in a move designed to lessen the impact of rising energy costs.
Business owners can claim a 30 percent grant for the installation of solar panels. There are more funds available to cover the cost of consultancy during the process too.
For more details on applying for this energy bonus in Lombardy, see here.
Other regions have also taken the initiative with encouraging more homes and businesses to change to solar-powered energy.
The region of Tuscany is offering an incentive on installing solar panels to residents in the form of tax deductions spread out over several years.
Works permitted include installing winter and summer air conditioning and hot water systems using renewable sources. This covers heat pumps, solar panels or high-efficiency biomass boilers.
For further details and information on how to apply, see here.
Each region may have its own solar panel bonus, either in the form of grants or tax deductions, available to private residents and/or businesses.
Check your regional government’s website to find out what may be currently on offer.
National subsidies for installing solar panels
If your region isn’t offering any cash incentive to install solar panels on your property, there are government funds available, which cover all 20 regions.
The authorities introduced and extended a package of building bonuses in order to galvanise the construction industry following the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
While there is no single, separate package of incentives for installing solar panels in 2022, you can take advantage of other government bonuses that include the cost of solar panel installation and supply.
As noted, you could use the renovation bonus (bonus ristrutturazione), which amounts to a 50 percent tax deduction spread over 10 years in your tax return – or through the superbonus 110, a scheme that promises homeowners a tax deduction of up to 110% on expenses related to property renovation and making energy efficiency measures.
READ ALSO:
The property must make at least a double jump in energy class or reach the highest efficiency rating when accessing these bonuses.
There’s a substantial amount of funds on offer to install your solar panels.
Using the renovation bonus, there is a maximum total expenditure of €96,000 (per single housing, including condominiums). Remember this amounts to a 50 percent tax deduction, so the maximum saving you would make is €48,000.
The renovation bonus has been extended until 2024 and, where solar panel installation is concerned, you can claim for the costs of labour, design, surveys and inspections, as well as VAT and stamp duty.
You must tell Italy’s energy and technology authority, ENEA, that you’ve done the works within 90 days in order to access the state aid for solar panel installation.
If you choose to use the superbonus route to claim funds for your solar panels, however, you can spread out the tax deduction costs over five years. Alternatively, you can apply for it as a discount on the invoice (sconto in fattura) or through the transfer of credit (cessione del credito).
The limit when using this bonus is €48,000, which can now be accessed for a while longer as the government extended the deadline for single family homes.
See HERE for details on how to claim it.
See more in The Local’s Italian property section.
After Sambuca di Sicilia became the poster child for Italy’s one-euro homes project, local authorities say the town’s fortunes have turned around as the area is now enjoying a ‘Renaissance’.
In recent years dozens of depopulating Italian villages have put up cheap homes up for sale in an effort to revitalize local communities, but one in particular stands out from the rest.
Sambuca Di Sicilia, in deepest Sicily, has been the most successful of the ‘one euro home’ villages.
Since 2019, when it first began to auction off crumbling buildings for a starting price of one euro, the village has enjoyed a Renaissance.
According to local authorities a total of roughly €100 million has flowed in due to the initiative, positively impacting the rural area’s local economy in spite of the pandemic slowdown.
“Twenty new B&Bs have opened in town, while before there was just one,” says deputy mayor Giuseppe Cacioppo. “The cheap home sales have generated some €3 million, while overall renovations are worth over €20 million.”
Mayor Leo Ciaccio adds that Sambuca’s time in the global spotlight has spurred public investments, with roughly €40-€50 million earmarked for improving roads and reviving old underground cellars, while the remote village recently got its first helicopter pad for emergencies.
The influx of foreigners seeking to grab a place in the sun by purchasing a cheap home, and who then end up staying in the village for at least one week a year, has already led to a 200 percent increase in tourism, according to Cacioppo, generating an estimated €8-€10 million in revenue.
Following the initial 2019 scheme Sambuca launched another auction of old dwellings last summer with a starting symbolic price of €2.
READ ALSO: Why Italians aren’t snatching up their country’s one-euro homes
All cheap homes in both auctions were eventually sold, with some going for up to €25.000 – with many going to foreign buyers who decided to purchase slightly more expensive homes in need of little work, breathing new life into the real estate market.
A total of 135 empty homes in the area have been sold in just two years, which also means the local population benefited from the housing scheme.
Many families were finally able to sell off empty houses which had been lying vacant for decades, and a positive chain reaction ensued.
“Other than B&Bs, new taverns, wine bars, artisanal shops also opened up, while local craftspeople, builders, carpenters, cleaning services, architects and engineers are now busy working on the sold homes. Some 50 houses have already been redone”, says Cacioppo.
So what is the secret of the success in Sambuca compared to other villages that have launched similar housing schemes?
Firstly, the mayor says, it was the only town to offer old homes for sale which were already in the possession of local authorities.
READ ALSO: The hidden costs of buying a home in Italy
“Due to the earthquake that rocked the area in 1968 many buildings in the historical center were abandoned, and in time the town hall took them over to secure the area and launch a revival project,” explains Cacioppo.
“Unlike other towns, we are the direct owners so there is no need to liaise between local families and new buyers.”
“The fact that the town hall is the one involved party is a guarantee,” he says, adding that the process was not slowed by having to track down the legal owners of abandoned properties, many of whom emigrated long ago.
Another plus point is the exotic feel of the village. The ancient old town features typical Arab-style dwellings with internal courtyards filled with orange trees, which hail back to Sicily’s spellbinding past.
The residents I spoke to were all ecstatic about the revamp of the village. Francesco Sciamé recently opened a B&B, called Donna Baldi Centellis, in a historical building complete with original majolica tiles.
He says it was never the right time to open such a business, mainly because he’d have had zero customers. Now the B&B is constantly fully booked.
“I’ve always wanted to run a B&B and the success of the housing scheme offered me the opportunity,” he says. “Sambuca became known worldwide and foreign buyers started flocking here, so I offered them a place they could stay while house hunting. There was no reason to open it before, the village was unknown”.
OPINION: Bargain homes and fewer crowds – but Italy’s deep south is not for everyone
Riccardo Mulé has opened a wine bar, L’Enoteca del Re, on Sambuca’s main street where he makes cocktails with wild herbs that grow in the nearby fields.
He didn’t quite start from scratch, given he already owned nearby Re Umberto Caffé, where locals meet for morning espresso, but he says the cheap homes frenzy pushed him to expand his business.
“I realized tourists were savvy clients, they wanted to taste traditional drinks with plates of local hams and cheeses. They did not want the usual Martini, but niche Sicilian liqueurs,” says Mulé.
Where will the town go from here? The local officials and residents I spoke to believe that Sambuca will become a crossroads for different cultures, as people from all over the world join the effort to revive the local economy.
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May 14, 2022 at 08:36AM