Italy Conto Termico 3.0 incentive program updates

The Conto Termico 3.0 incentive program, designed to promote energy efficiency and renewable thermal energy in existing buildings, faced significant operational challenges following its February 2026 launch. A surge in applications led to approximately 1.3 billion euros in requests within a single month, exceeding the annual 900 million euro budget and forcing a suspension of applications in March 2026.

To address the resulting funding gap and project halts, the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) prepared a corrective decree. The Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces has issued a favorable opinion on these modifications. The approved decree introduces 16 articles of changes to the original August 2025 regulations, adjusting access conditions, contribution amounts, and documentation requirements.

Specific measures include reduced incentives for interventions in small municipalities to manage expenditure. Additionally, the decree clarifies that fiscal deductions are excluded for replacing winter air conditioning systems with fossil fuel boilers, instead prioritizing heat pumps, hybrid systems, and certain biomass generators.