Italy calls for 40TWh wind production by 2030 in national energy strategy

 

 Italy is aiming to attract a new wave of investments in renewable energy, particularly in wind and solar, to meet the ambitious objectives of its recently approved national energy strategy.

 

 

The Strategia Energetica Nazionale, known by the acronym SEN, calls for renewable energy reaching 28% of energy consumption in 2030, compared with 17.5% in 2015.

Electricity from renewable sources is seen to account for 55% that year, up from 33.5% in 2015. For wind, the SEN calls for production rising to 40TWh in 2030, more than double the 15TWh of 2015.

"Both for wind and for other sources, to meet the objectives it will be necessary to progress much more quickly than has been the case in the last few years," said Alessandro Marangoni, CEO of energy consultancy Althesys. 

Italy's energy plan highlights both the importance of repowering wind farms and the need of simplifying the authorisation process for these projects to meet green energy goals.

It also addresses financing, with competitive auctions for fixed tariffs seen remaining in place through 2020 and power purchase agreements (PPAs) with corporate counterparties taking over after that. The document also acknowledges that a market framework for PPAs is lacking and sees a potential role for public guarantees and support in the beginning.

According to Marangoni, investors are now seeking concrete measures to support plan objectives, such as legislation on upcoming auctions and specific measures to streamline authorisations. "We need to move from strategy to execution; it's clear that ambitious objectives aren't sufficient for investors," he said.

Meanwhile, the SEN has clearly got the industry’s attention.

Italian power giant Enel, which has grown its renewable energy portfolio mainly in emerging markets and North America in recent years, has indicated it could be among investors participating in a new wave of renewable projects in its home country should adequate policies be put in place.

Yet, with Italian national elections slated for this spring, there are clearly execution risks. 

And a recent study from wind energy association Anev has warned that without policy action, Italy's installed wind capacity could actually slip back to about 7GW in 2030 from roughly 9.4GW at mid-2017 as old wind farms come offline.