Zurich-based developer Galileo has secured consent for 250 MW of battery energy storage projects in Italy and expects consent for about 100 MW more in the coming weeks.
The two projects are each rated at 125 MW. One has 1,000 MWh of storage, giving eight hours of duration, and the other has 500 MWh, or four hours. They are in Italy’s North and Centre-South market zones, Galileo said, without saying which project is in which zone.
The company said its Italian team developed both projects in-house, from site selection through authorization, and agreed compensation measures with local municipalities. Galileo has a pipeline of more than 3 GW in Italy across solar, storage, and onshore and offshore wind, and more than 17 GW across Europe. It sold a 98 MW battery project in southern Italy last year.
Duration choice
Francesco Dolzani, Galileo’s managing director for Italy, told ESS News that the company sizes battery duration country by country rather than applying one design across Europe.
“In Italy, we generally develop longer-duration projects. The rationale is optionality, as a longer-duration asset keeps a wider range of offtake and business models open, so we can pursue the most attractive route to market as each project matures,” he said.
Dolzani said this matters because the key parameters of Italy’s regulated mechanisms can shift significantly between auctions. These include MACSE, the 15-year storage procurement run by grid operator Terna, and the capacity market.
“For example, under the current rules, longer-duration projects tend to be more competitive in MACSE while medium-duration systems may be better suited to a private offtake agreement combined with the Capacity Market,” he said.
Lender appetite
Dolzani said project finance is becoming a more important lever, as lenders grow more sophisticated in their understanding of battery revenue models.
“Beyond long-term contracted schemes such as MACSE, they are becoming more comfortable financing structures that combine contracted and merchant revenues,” he said.
Galileo said it has secured consents for more than 650 MW of solar and storage in Italy over the past 18 months. Co-founder and Chief Executive Ingmar Wilhelm said the company plans to begin operating as an independent power producer in Italy with a selection of its projects “in the near future.” Galileo is backed by four institutional investors with combined assets under management of more than €100 billion ($111.9 billion).
Terna’s first MACSE auction in September 2025 awarded about 10 GWh for 2028 delivery at a weighted average of €12,959/MWh per year. The second auction, for 2029 delivery, is scheduled for Nov. 24 with a 16 GWh target, after energy regulator ARERA raised the premium cap to €27,000/MWh per year last month. Italian authorities approved 3.25 GW of battery projects in September alone.
Outside MACSE, Aer Soléir closed financing in January for its 250 MW/1,000 MWh Rondissone project in Piedmont, which pairs a 15-year capacity market contract with a seven-year toll, the kind of blended structure Dolzani describes.
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