Italy Updates Bioenergy Price Guarantees

Italy’s ARERA agency approved new rules for guaranteed minimum prices for electricity from biogas, biomass, and bioliquids. The changes stem from the 2026 “bills decree” and aim to reduce general system charges related to bioenergy sources. Parliament addressed concerns from agricultural businesses by maintaining access to price stabilization mechanisms for biogas plants.

The new regulations introduce a maximum number of equivalent operating hours per semester for price guarantees. ARERA updated pricing formulas to account for potentially reduced operating hours, increasing coefficients for fixed costs to prevent financial losses for plant operators. Specifically, biomass plants will see a multiplier of 3.250/heq, while biogas plants will use 4.000/heq.

Annual spending limits were also established, ranging from 160 to 432.4 million euros for biogas plants from 2026 to 2028. The GSE will monitor costs and reduce operating hours if these limits are exceeded, prioritizing plants essential to production processes. The long-term impact of these changes on bioenergy production remains to be seen.