FER X and NZIA Are Changing Tracker Qualification in Italy

FER X and NZIA Are Changing Tracker Qualification in Italy

A tracker can satisfy the mechanical specification and still create a qualification problem for the project. That is becoming increasingly relevant in European utility-scale solar procurement as the EU Net-Zero Industry Act moves from legislation into renewable-energy auction design.

Italy is now a live example. The definitive FER X mechanism entered into force on 7 August 2026, with operational rules approved for preliminary qualification and future competitive procedures.

What does NZIA have to do with a solar tracker?

The Net-Zero Industry Act requires Member States to incorporate sustainability and resilience criteria into a defined share of renewable-energy auctions. Article 26 sets a minimum of 30% of the volume auctioned annually in each Member State, or alternatively at least 6 GW per year per Member State, subject to the Regulation’s detailed exemptions and implementation rules.

Trackers are expressly relevant to the resilience assessment. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1178 lists “PV trackers and their specific mounting structures” among the main specific components of photovoltaic technology.

Why that changes procurement

For projects where the NZIA resilience criterion applies, a tracker is not evaluated only on yield, structural design, wind strategy, delivery and price. The project may also need a defensible manufacturing and supply-chain position for the tracker package.

Terms such as “European”, “non-Chinese” or “manufactured in Türkiye” can be useful commercial descriptions. They are not, on their own, a project qualification file.

A better buyer checklist

• Which entities manufacture the relevant tracker package?

• Where is the relevant manufacturing performed?

• How are key components sourced and controlled?

• What production, quality-control and traceability records exist?

• Can the stated manufacturing and supply-chain position be substantiated when the project needs it?

How Truaxis approaches the issue

Truaxis Energy designs and supplies single-axis tracker systems from Türkiye for utility-scale solar projects. Its commercial proposition combines project-specific engineering with an industrial manufacturing base, controlled component sourcing, quality-control records and direct technical support.

For FER X/NZIA projects, the useful question is therefore moving beyond “Where is this tracker made?” The stronger procurement question is: “Can I substantiate the manufacturing and supply-chain position of this tracker in my project qualification file?”

That question belongs in the RFQ and technical-commercial evaluation, not in a document chase after supplier selection.

Primary sources

• Regulation (EU) 2024/1735 – Net-Zero Industry Act –https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1735/oj/eng

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1178 – PV trackers listed as main specific components – https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/1178/oj/eng

• European Commission guidance on NZIA Article 26 (2026) –https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52026XC04113