Hell of a grid

With the solar business booming like no other business ever around here, guess what is driving crazy operators and folks concerned with PV installations. Lack of material? Of finance? Of skilled designers? Yeah, sure. As ever in Italy, nothing comes with forward-planning, but always with prompt, intuitive reaction. Almost. Not from the rule-makers, who still fiddle about the new feed-in-tariff scheme with terrific delay on the timetable; not from the law-makers, who mess about a "semplificate" authorization scheme for below-1-MWp energy plants, which does not semplificate a penny in the constrained process to get a grid-connection free-way.
The point is that the principal rules to comply to when laying a the connection cable is a "royal decree" issued in 1933 (Italy being a republic since 1946...). This "friendly" regulation requires the energy producer to acquire a number of permissions which are 90% out-of-contest. It was right, of course, in an era when databases were fisically maintained at the holder's premises. But not now, when infrastructure databases could be available with a click. To lay a connection cable of less then 1 km, it could easyly take a 6-to-12 month slalom around 10-to-15 different public authorities. So why is not the grid-operator carrying the bag? Because this 10-miles-hurdles races gives the incumbent grid-operator a formidable excuse to delay investments to bring the grid up-to-date and up-to-scope, not mentioning the up-grade or even thinking about smart-grids. So, you take care of it on your own and that's why it costs loads of money, headaches and time to get a permit in Italy.