Transition, renewables lagging behind: Development Observatory launched
Online the Sole 24 Ore's monitoring of the progress of clean sources: 71 GW of installed capacity exceeded in Italy in March. We need to go beyond 200 by 2030, according to the G7 commitment
3' min read
3' min read
A red line, marking the goal in the long run: how many GW of renewable capacity does Italy need to install to meet the European decarbonisation targets? In what share will sun, wind, water, bioenergy and geothermal energy have to play their part in the national energy mix? The association representing 70 per cent of the national electricity market has made the calculation: Elettricità Futura, in its Electricity Plan 2030, consistent with the REPowerEU, has defined precise numbers for the target of installed capacity of energy from clean sources: 142 GW.
An already ambitious target that was revised upwards with the commitment signed by Italy at the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Summit held at the Reggia di Venaria Reale (Turin). The decision, together with the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain, to triple the installed renewable capacity would bring the cumulative total to 2030 in our country to over 200 GW.
The need to decarbonise
.The context, and the mission, remains global: to cut CO2 emissions to combat climate change and contain the rise in temperatures as close as possible to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Copernicus has calculated that from March 2023 to March 2024, the average global temperature increased by +1.58°C, the highest ever. The steps to help slow this race Europe has long made known: a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 (Fit for 55% package), and zero net emissions (i.e. offsetting everything produced) by 2050.
Updated monthly data
.The objective of the Sun 24's Green Transition Observatory is to monitor actual progress on this path month by month. How? By using public data from Terna, the company that manages the national transmission grid and makes available on its website every month a detailed bulletin, the Monthly Electricity System Report. From consumption to production, right down to the type of source used. In March, for example, net national production amounted to 20.7 billion kWh.
Renewable sources covered 41.8% of electricity demand (it was 33% in March 2023) with a large increase from hydro (+140.4%), while the collapse of coal production was observed: -87.1% compared to the same period last year. As far as installed capacity is concerned, Terna recorded a monthly variation of 514 MW in March (+503 for photovoltaics), bringing the total capacity expansion to 1.8 GW, 633 MW higher than in the same period last year (+52%). A result that certifies a greater speed compared to the past. In fact, we went from 1 GW installed in Italy in 2021 to 3 GW in 2022 and almost 6 GW in 2023. While Germany installed 17.8 GW in 2023, according to data from Irena, which, by the way, was commissioned by the G7 countries to monitor the group's progress in the renewable energy sector.
