Energy, why is the transition in Italy so slow?

“It is truly incredible that a country like Italy that has plenty of wind and sun cannot build these plants in a short time – says Cristini -. Let’s assume that we can produce 10 gigawatts from renewables every year, a feasible result in terms of production: in 10 years we would reach 100 gigawatts. These 100 of photovoltaics alone, added to wind, geothermal and hydroelectric, can contribute to reach the 70% of energy self-production. They mean reducing imports and reducing gas consumption ”.

Until 2021, Italian energy demand was around 320 terawatts per year per year, 6% more than in 2020 (the year of the pandemic, therefore of non-linear energy consumption compared to the ordinary). Over the next few years, the electrical energy consumption “will increase: for example, due to the demand for sustainable mobility or indoor air conditioning also in order to reduce gas. In short, if we produce a few more gigs, it will certainly be useful”Continues Cristini.

“Let’s consider that 100 gigs of photovoltaics produce about 150 terawatts / hour of electricity every year. From renewable sources in Italy we already have a production of about 100 terawatt / hour per year: for this reason, with another 100 gigabytes from photovoltaics, another 150 terawatt / hour is achieved. Added to the electricity produced by wind power, offshore wind, gas, we would reach a very high percentage of self-production“, continues the expert. Approximately 70% of the total needed to satisfy the national demand for electricity.

Where to install the systems

A recurring objection to the installation of photovoltaic systems is that of land consumption. This is also why the solution ofagrivoltaicwhich allows the installation of the panels in cultivated fields.

The objection has therefore shifted to the fact that the panels steal land from agricultural fields. Cristini reports the position of the producers: “When I hear people say: ‘Ah, but if we put the panels on the ground, in the fields, what do we eat?’, It means that we do not know the impact of soil consumption of the farm.“. According to data from the Photovoltaic Alliance, to produce 100 gigawatts from this source it takes about 150 thousand hectares of land: it does not necessarily have to be entirely agricultural, but even if it were “we would lose a small part of land in a country that has 1 million usable hectares in Puglia alone. How can a few thousand hectares less have such an impact on agricultural production? I believe that the increase in energy prices has a much greater impact, which probably kills many of the farms in Italy today. Caution: the farm is not installed where there are lines of value (like the Franciacorta vines or the Primitivo grapes in Puglia) and therefore does not damage the agricultural production of so to speak delicate supply chains. But where there are no such constraints, agriculture allows us to create winning mechanisms for both energy and agriculture “. Clearly, photovoltaic systems should first be installed in other places: the abandoned industrial areas, that the government has already indicated as suitable areas. “There, a rapid authorization of the installations would be immediately feasible”, Concludes the spokesperson.

Proposals to overcome the bureaucratic impasse

The ambitions of the Alliance, namely to achieve a realistic production potential of around 100 gigawatts over the next ten years, exceed the objectives of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan 2030 (Pniec) which involves the construction of 50 gigawatts within the next eight years. But they are given by the producers, therefore proportionate to the plant engineering force that can really be deployed on the national territory.

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These are ambitions to be pursued: let’s think about Germanythe European benchmark for photovoltaics, which recently raised its renewable production target to 400 gigawatts by 2035, especially to replace the nuclear plants that are going to be decommissioned. In Germany, however, there is great certainty on the regulatory process and a higher dynamism than the Italian one on approvals. Here is the starting point of the impasse that blocks national photovoltaic production. In this regard, Cristini proposes two solutions to unlock the approval process. “From a point of view regulatory, there are some holidays that if they were clarified (even as interpretative doubts) would unlock many projects. So, we suffer a great deal lack of human resources. The Pniec / Pnrr Commission and the Mite have very few units that instruct the practices. I have no official data, but there are three or four officials who have to investigate hundreds of cases in a few months: there is a bottleneck there. Probably an immediate solution should be the establishment of a task force: assign new human resources to the offices and accelerate the progression of these plants which are authorized only if they have the positive opinion of the Pniec / Pnrr Commission “.

Another block of the process comes after the opinion of the Commission, through the counter-check of the MIT (Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility) that “in fact it is blocking projects because it takes a long time and often the answer is negative, thus referring these projects to the presidency of the Council of Ministers. Therefore the opinion of the Commission, where another opinion of the Ministry intervenes, should not then be followed by a new opinion“. Or if this were absolutely necessary, it would be enough to have more competent staff engaged in approvals.

Energy supply is one national priority: L’self-production is the shared goal. For the first time, even Italy could reach it in a short time. It’s time to really accelerate the energy transition – if that means increase competent staff in plant deliberations, it is time to do it as soon as possible. The resources of the NRP could be useful: create public work to push the growth of the private sector dedicated to renewables to reduce CO emissions₂ and energy costs. Here is a true value chain.