Industrial solar repowering: the guide to increasing capacity for large plants

When repowering is the strategic choice: business cases

The decision to upgrade a plant stems from specific business needs. The three most common scenarios driving a repowering project are:

1. Production Expansion: The introduction of new production lines, more powerful machinery, or the extension of working hours drastically increases electricity consumption. Repowering aligns energy production with the facility’s new production capacity.
2. Electrification of processes and mobility: The transition from gas technologies to electric solutions (such as industrial heat pumps for HVAC) or the electrification of the company fleet creates a new and significant energy load. Repowering provides the clean energy needed to power this transition.
3. Achievement of ESG Goals: Many large companies have sustainability objectives that require covering an increasing share of their consumption with renewable sources. If the current plant is insufficient to meet these targets, repowering is the way to bridge the gap.

How a repowering intervention works

Increasing the capacity of an industrial plant is a complex engineering project. The crucial phases that a qualified partner must manage include:

1. Energy demand analysis: This analysis phase aims to understand the company’s operating context, historical and anticipated production, market and consumption dynamics related to the current supply, and the correlation of these factors within the solar environment.
2. Structural analysis: Before adding new modules, a static verification of the warehouse roof structure is indispensable to certify that it can safely support the additional weight and wind load.
3. Electrical and grid verification: The increase in power may require upgrading inverters, electrical panels, and cables. It is also essential to verify that the public grid connection point can handle the new injected power.
4. Definition of the operating strategy: A choice is made between two main approaches. The first is adding a new, independent plant section, utilizing previously unused roof areas. The second, more radical approach, combines a revamping intervention with repowering, thus renovating the existing plant by replacing old modules with latest-generation panels (which can nearly double the installed capacity in the same area) while also adding capacity via a new section.

Bureaucratic management with the GSE: a crucial point

One of the most delicate aspects of repowering is managing existing incentives, especially for plants benefiting from the Conto Energia (Feed-in Tariff). GSE regulations are complex, but the general rule is that the added capacity portion is treated as a new, distinct plant.
This means that:

• The original section of the plant retains its incentives, provided that the original performance is not altered and that the regulations are strictly applied, even in the case of a revamping intervention.
• The new section follows the regulations and any incentives in force at the time of installation.

Navigating this bureaucracy without error is essential, which is why it is critical to rely on qualified operators who can professionally and competently manage the technical intervention in full compliance with regulatory requirements.

You may find our guide comparing revamping and repowering helpful for further insight.