Urban Regeneration

Energy

A 'city plan' to meet energy targets

By 2030 40.1% of building consumption from renewable sources Italia has not yet delivered a plan for green homes to Brussels

by Anna Migliorati

11 February 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

- Slow renovations and ambitious goals
- The solution in a mix of distributed renewables, storage, collective self-consumption and e-mobility
- Up to 60% savings from district heating
- The role of cer in integrated urban policies

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Cities are the key to meeting energy targets. Without intervening on the urban fabric, reaching the transition desired by Brussels is impossible, not only in terms of the so-called green houses, which are now a close deadline, but also in terms of climate targets. This is why Italia is waiting for a 'city plan' rather than a house plan.

The objectives

The numbers, listed one by one by SUR (Sustainable Urban Regeneration) Lab Bocconi, say it all: the building sector is responsible for more than 40 per cent of energy consumption and more than 30 per cent of CO2 emissions in Europe, and almost all buildings with poor energy performance will remain in use until 2050. At the same time, targets are being raised: at the end of January, the decree with which Italia completed the transposition of the RED III Directive, updating the national framework on renewable energy sources, arrived in the Official Gazette. The measure raises the national target for 2030 to 39.4 per cent of gross final energy consumption and sets the target for the building sector to be covered by renewable sources to at least 40.1 per cent of buildings' energy consumption.

Numbers that lead one to say that without massive intervention in the energy dna of cities, it is impossible to reduce consumption, contain costs for households and businesses, and achieve the goal of a zero-emission building stock by 2050. But other intermediate steps are also imminent. Yet the machine is struggling to get going. Italia should have delivered a plan to Brussels for the renovation of buildings in line with the so-called green homes directive by 31 December 2025. A date that has been disregarded, not only, in truth, by our country.

The opportunity, however, is to rethink a city plan rather than a house plan. "The real challenge is not just to renovate, it is to intelligently integrate energy, infrastructure and services," says Annamaria Bagaini, researcher SUR Lab Bocconi and MUSA Spoke 1 - Urban Regeneration. "Urban regeneration processes make the integration of renewable energy systems into the urban fabric more effective and sustainable thanks to the coordinated development of local distribution networks and the integration of storage systems. This makes it possible to valorise distributed renewable production and promote a better balance between production and consumption at the urban and neighbourhood scale'.

In essence, the key would be to intervene simultaneously on household consumption, but also on production, networks and, last but not least, mobility. "Electric vehicle charging infrastructures are not just an element of mobility, but become an integral part of the urban energy system, helping to modulate loads, distribute consumption points more evenly and strengthen local energy flow management in interaction with renewable production, storage and smart grids," Bagaini explains.

From district heating up to 60% reduction in consumption

On the other hand, at the level of homes, a knot that is now coming to the boil, one of the solutions comes, for example, from district heating, where it exists. According to a recent Bocconi analysis for A2A, this alone would lead to a reduction in energy consumption of up to 60% and a reduction in CO2 emissions of around 1.78 million tonnes in 15 years. Other studies speak of a growth potential of +400% compared to the current spread. About 340 district heating systems are operational in Italia, with 5,000 km of network and coverage of about 5% of the total heat demand.

"It represents a system capable of integrating renewable energy sources and heat recovery on a district scale, producing benefits for the energy system such as increased reliability and security of supply, for the environment in terms of reduced CO2 emissions and local pollutants, and, last but not least, for end users improved indoor comfort," it emphasises.

Model energy communities not to be abandoned

On the other hand, however, it is the system of energy communities (CERs) in cities that could represent the real central piece in the transition, even after the drastic cut in funding that came at the end of the year: 'CERs are an innovative solution that encourages local participation, promotes collective ownership of plants, and generates environmental, social and economic benefits, contributing to the achievement of the national target of energy from renewable sources on gross final consumption,' Bagaini says. They can intervene by reducing energy costs, promoting self-consumption and the sharing of locally produced energy, and allocating part of the proceeds to social purposes with a direct impact on the territories concerned. And, at the same time, they are also a relevant tool on a social level, as they can help to combat energy poverty,' which in Italy affects more than 2.4 million families.

However, a recent study conducted by Bocconi on a sample of Italian municipalities does not hide the difficulties, amidst institutional but also economic, socio-cultural and technical-technological barriers. "In this sense, the urban energy transition requires careful and coordinated governance. Without integrated planning tools and systemic policies, even energy regeneration and innovation interventions can generate undesirable effects, such as green gentrification phenomena. That is, increases in property values and rents that can lead to the expulsion of the most vulnerable segments of the population,' Bagaini concludes. What one would like to avoid precisely with a housing plan.

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