Arezzo, 16 January 2026
FS Energy - FS Group Company tasked with making the energy supply more sustainable - has stepped into a new stage of the decarbonisation process. The new photovoltaic power plant connected to the railway network - the 3rd after the plants in Padua and Foggia - is now active in Arezzo.
The system was connected and installed on the electrical substation in-house, by Italferr and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana technicians - FS Group's two main engineering and infrastructure companies. The plant is connected to the substation by a 20 kV cable about 800 metres long, laid in underground ducts using innovative drilling techniques, required to cross the HS and Standard Rome-Florence lines underground. The electrical substation transforms and converts the energy produced by the photovoltaic panels into voltage, to power train engines and drives.
The Arezzo photovoltaic plant comprises about 10,000 high-efficiency (22.4%) panels, each with 480 Wp, installed over a total area of about 70,000 m². The total nominal capacity is 4.8 MW, with an estimated annual production of about 5.8 GWh.
A distinctive element in this project was the use of digital design through Building Information Modeling (BIM), to optimise each process stage, reduce operating times and risks, and ensure a better plant integration into the surrounding context, with little environmental and landscape impact.
The activation of the Arezzo plant is part of FS Group's green strategy, aimed at installing over 1 GW of renewable capacity by 2029 and about 2 GW by 2034, covering up to 40% of total electricity needs. Together with the plants already active in Padua and Foggia, this new plant will help generate a total of 17 GWh per year, equivalent to thousands of kilometres travelled by trains using sustainable energy.
The new facilities are a concrete example of how technological innovation, digital design and cooperation between FS Group companies can accelerate the transition to an increasingly sustainable, resilient and efficient railway system. By investing in these solutions, FS Group reaffirms its commitment to the decarbonisation of energy consumption and the development of state-of-the-art infrastructure, to the benefit of the environment and the community.