Evolution of the main economic parameters for photovoltaic plants installed in Italy

The Italian photovoltaic market is today the third world's largest and represents a success story having attained the grid parity for certain type of residential and Commercial/Industrial (C&I) customers. In this paper, the main economic parameters involved in the installation of a photovoltaic plant (i.e. the Payback Time, the Internal Rate of Return and the Levelized Cost Of Energy) are calculated for three representative locations in Northern, Central, and Southern Italy. The parameters are calculated at different times between 2003 and 2014 considering different regime of governmental incentives and the grid parity scenario. The result of such analysis shows how the dramatic reduction of installation in the Italian market after 2011 cannot be directly related to a reduction of the economic convenience for the enduser. Moreover, the opportunities given by the attainment of the grid parity seem to have the potential to pave the way to a new impulse in the market of this solar technology.