Reach 84% of the electricity produced with renewable sources within eight years, from the current 35%. This is the main objective of the 2030 Plan for the electricity sector drawn up by Elettricità Futura, which plans to connect 85 Gigawatts of new renewables to the grid, an 80 GWh (Gigawatt hour) storage program (batteries), with 320 billion investments . 55% of electricity in 2022 was produced with gas (about 25 billion cubic metres). With the 85 green GW envisaged by the Plan, gas consumption in the sector will drop to around 7 billion cubic metres.
CO2, 270 billion cubic meters less
The development – according to the study “The Italian supply chain of renewable and smart energy technologies towards 2030” by the Enel Foundation carried out with Althesys and Elettricità Futura and presented yesterday in Rome before the ministers Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and Adolfo Urso – would bring over 360 billions of economic benefits, in terms of added value for the supply chain and related industries, with 540,000 new jobs. In addition to a reduction in emissions equal to 270 billion cubic meters of CO2 less. “We have the opportunity to produce more energy using renewable sources,” said Agostino Re Rebaudengo, president of Elettricità Futura. «Electricity consumption by 2030 will reach 360 TWh-he continued-in order to be more independent, it is important to grow in production in our country».
The permissions
To implement the plan – explains Re Rebaudengo – it is necessary to go from one Gigawatt authorized per year as in 2022 to 10 GW per year. And this requires speeding up the times of the authorization process». On authorizations, “we are the worst in Europe in terms of times and costs”. Up to now the simplification interventions and the work of the Commissions have improved a dramatic situation, but not solved the problem». Another obstacle to the growth of wind and solar is the identification of suitable areas. «We believe – says Re Rebaudengo – that the potentially suitable areas are all those that do not have morphological, regulatory or intended use constraints. According to the Terna-Snam study, these areas account for around 27% of the surface. To achieve our goal, 0.3% of the territory is enough».
Pichetto: Of the simplifications on the way
As regards the limits, the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Pichetto announced the reduction of the limit from 7 to 3 kilometers for the buffer zone between a wind farm and a protected asset. Next week – he said – “we will approve the Simplifications decree”. The goal for the minister is to get to install an average of 8-10 gigawatts per year, to reach 80 gigawatts by 2023. «Electricity produced from renewable sources – explained the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto – represents the fundamental way to implement the objectives we have set ourselves by 2050. This sector today represents the economic and cultural engine of the energy transition . At the ministry we are working to unblock the procedures and make them more expeditious ». Pichetto also announced his intention to remedy the issue of preventive assessments of archaeological interest which is blocking 800 projects.
Urso: Environment and industry act in unison
“Italy and Europe must work together for full energy and technological sovereignty, also aiming at autonomy on the fundamental raw materials front – observed the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso – and we must create a response strategy of Europe and the West to the challenge, also of values, which is posed to us by China and Russia. With this government, the environment and industry are acting in unison towards sustainability: they are two tracks, finally aligned, on which the train of the ecological transition runs. Italy can be a model both in terms of green and digital».
A supply chain of 800 companies
The national renewable and smart electricity supply chain exists and has almost 800 companies. It is a strategic asset for Italy, underlines Alessandro Marangoni, managing director of Althesys. «It is an industrial sector made up of internationally competitive industrial excellence, present above all in the segments with the highest added value. The energy transition is an extraordinary opportunity for industrial growth for our country, promoting supply security and technological independence, as well as environmental sustainability. The socio-economic benefits for Italy deriving from the development of this sector could be equivalent to up to 2% of annual GDP between now and 2030″.
Starace: investing in the whole supply chain
“In the coming years there will be an increasing need for technologies, skills and strategic vision to support the energy transition – underlined the CEO of Enel Francesco Starace, who has just unveiled the Gigafactory of solar panels in Catania which will be the largest in Europe – and Italy will only be able to play a leading role by creating and strengthening a national value chain capable of competing on the international scene. It is necessary to invest by working on the entire supply chain, from the processing of raw materials to the development of technologies, from generation to distribution, up to energy consumption, according to a sustainable development model that is attentive to the environment, people and economic growth. The indication that emerges from the study is clear: we are facing a unique opportunity, and if we want to fully seize it, the time to act is now”.
