Green energy, district heating and waste: all the challenges for utilities

The unknowns linked to the gas factor, the commitment, infrastructural and energetic, in support of district heating, the acceleration on renewables, the decarbonisation and containment of CO2 and PM10 emissions, the increase in the network of plants for waste management with a view to the circular economy. And finally, the need to close the circle on waste, a sector in which Piedmont has a negative gap of about 70,000 tonnes. These are some of the challenges in the field for the multi-utilities operating in Piedmont and the entire North-West, without forgetting the nodes related to size and governance.

As the Egea case 'teaches', the energy shock linked to the war between Russia and Ukraine has upset many economic balances. In the services sector, therefore, there is a need to adopt business models capable of embracing the green revolution and transforming decarbonisation, circular economy and sustainability into real development levers. In June, Confervizi Piemonte presented a series of position papers to take stock of the different sectors in which utilities work.

On the energy front, the framework is provided by the Regional Environmental Energy Plan, a document that aims to reduce emissions harmful to health and increase the share of energy consumption met by renewable sources. 'In Piedmont, it will be possible to reduce energy consumption by 30 per cent by 2030, but above all to reach a share close to 50 per cent of regional electricity production from renewable energy sources,' is the indication that emerges. The coverage from renewable sources has actually decreased in Piedmont over the last two years mainly in relation to water sources and the impact of the drought, which was partly overcome this year. While Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta are among the top Italian regions in terms of the incidence of hydroelectricity, the latter represents an important industrial dossier: 'Significance is attributed to the recovery of producibility in the operating hydroelectric plants of large derivations (66 plants),' the paper writes. On this valuable asset for the transition looms the uncertainty of concessions. "These plants, whose concessions will expire in almost all cases by 2029, with the exception of 11 plants whose concessions have already expired, represent around 90% of Piedmont's annual production and are often characterised by a high average age. Energy efficiency measures can lead to production increases of up to 10-15% with the same amount of water used.

An open game is that of implementing the district heating network, which should affect municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. In Piedmont, we are talking about Turin, Novara, Alessandria, Asti, Moncalieri, Cuneo, Collegno, Rivoli, Nichelino and Settimo Torinese. The development potential is in the order of 30 million cubic metres, "but it must be increasingly directed towards the production of renewable thermal energy" is the paper's indication. Finally, the Energy Communities, a new frontier for self-consumption, 'capable of involving a total of at least 10% of the regional territory by 2025'.