Registration & Welcome Coffee

Opening & Institutional Welcome

• Welcome from ITALIA SOLARE (Paolo Rocco Viscontini, President) and SolarPower Europe (Dries Acke, Deputy CEO)
• Setting the scene: why flexibility and storage are now central to the energy transition

SESSION 1 – EU POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR FLEXIBILITY AND STORAGE

How the European Commission is addressing flexibility, storage, and grid integration through the implementation, at the MS level, of the Electricity Market Design reform and the upcoming Grid Package.

Moderator: Fausta Chiesa, Corriere della Sera

Keynote:

• Dries Acke, SolarPower Europe | EU vision for flexibility and storage – Market Design Directive: implications for solar + storage

• Alessandro Polito, DG-ENER | What still needs to be fixed at EU level

• Silvia Bodoardo, CTS ITALIA SOLARE member | The role of storage in system adequacy and resilience

Coffee Break & Networking

SESSION 2 – INVERTER-BASED SYSTEMS AS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. Cybersecurity and Grid Forming for Power System Stability

With the increasing penetration of photovoltaic systems and energy storage, inverters are no longer simple power conversion components, but active and critical elements of the power system. Two topics become central and deeply interconnected:

Grid forming: the ability of inverters to actively contribute to system stability, frequency and voltage control;

Cybersecurity: the digital security of devices that control, communicate and can influence the operation of the grid.

The session addresses these topics in an integrated manner, highlighting their technological, regulatory and industrial implications.

Key focus areas include:

• Inverters and BESS as infrastructure-grade assets;
• Why grid forming increases the systemic value (and responsibility) of inverters;
• Cybersecurity as a prerequisite for stability services, aggregation and market participation.

Moderator: Fausa Chiesa, Corriere della Sera

Keynote:

• Fabrizio Pilo, CTS ITALIA SOLARE member * | Grid Forming

• Catarina Augusto, SolarPower Europe | Cybersecurity

Panelists:

• Solis
• PM Green

Lunch & Networking

SESSION 3 – FLEXIBILITY IN PRACTICE: THE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE

Explore together with the DSOs their experiences on the implementation of flexibility and grid integration in Italy, with emphasis on business models and technology integration for residential and C&I segments: Solar PV + storage + heat pumps; Demand-side flexibility and aggregation; Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) as flexibility providers

Moderator: Gabriele Masini, Staffetta Quotidiana

Keynote:

• Fabio Zanellini, Chair of the Storage WG at ITALIA SOLARE

  • Status of implementation in Italy

  • Regulatory and market signals for small and medium-scale flexibility

Roundtable discussion:

• Viable business models today
• Technology integration challenges and opportunities
• Aggregators and RECs: current limits and future potential

Panelists:

• Ercole De Luca, Head of European Projects, RomeFlex – ARETI
• Gaetano Iannarelli, Project Manager MINDFlex – UNARETI
• E-distribuzione (invited)
• Fronius
• Solax
• Regalgrid

SESSION 4 – UTILITY-SCALE STORAGE AND SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY

Large-scale storage (BESS) and its role in the Italian power system in the stand-alone and hybrid configuration, with a specific look at the MACSE second tender and future market opportunities.

Moderator: Gabriele Masini, Staffetta Quotidiana

Keynotes:

• Maurizio Delfanti, Coordinator of the TSC at ITALIA SOLARE| The role of utility-scale BESS in system flexibility
• Salvatore Alessandro Casa, Partner at Elemens | MACSE: lessons learned and expectations for the second auction

Roundtable discussion:

• Business models, bankability and risk allocation
• Interaction between BESS, renewables, and grids
• Grid forming
• Outlook for large-scale storage in Italy and Europe

Panelists:

• Marco Turchiano, Terna
• Davide Tinazzi, Energy
• Giuseppe Pastorino, AICEP
• Fulvio Ferrari, Higeco More

Closing Remarks