Terna: more than 51% of electricity demand covered by renewables in April

A historical record for renewables in Italy, which in April covered the electricity demand with a share of 51.2 per cent (compared to 36 per cent in 2023). A level touched in the past only once, in May 2020, when however the collapse in demand caused by the lockdown had distorted energy statistics. The one communicated on 21 May by Terna is instead a 'true' record, determined mainly by two factors: the record production of hydroelectric power (practically tripled, to be exact +197.5%, due to the heavy rainfall and snowfall in recent months) and the new breakthrough of photovoltaic power (+19.5%), in turn favoured by the increase in operating capacity.

Capacity which, as far as all green assets are concerned, grew by 2.35 GW in 2024 (+45% compared to a year ago): there is every chance of beating the 5.7 GW of 2023, even if the Pniec targets - around 10 GW per year to meet the 2030 timetable - are still a long way off. Also with regard to renewables, in April, there was a decrease in geothermal (-0.9%) and wind power (-3.4%). For fossil fuels, on the other hand, thermal power is still suffering (-16.6%), reflecting the great difficulties being encountered by the less recently built, and therefore less flexible, gas-fired power stations.

The jump in renewables - another piece of good news - was also accompanied by an increase in demand, which grew by 1.1% in April. Furthermore, if one looks at the simple production of electricity in Italy, thus net of imports (which met 14.6% of requirements), green sources weighed in at almost 60% (in May 2020, as proof of how much of a lockdown this figure was, it was only 53%), bringing the cumulative figure to 2024 close to 50%.

Last year, our country had closed with 43.8 per cent, but it is clear that - with the summer season just around the corner - the conditions are in place to catch up with Germany and Spain, which in 2023 had recorded more than 50 per cent of green electricity production, mainly thanks to a record wind season (particularly in the North Sea).

The other side of the coin, more industrial and financial, of the historic result recorded by renewables in Italy in April is represented by the strongly growing quarterly reports of the large Italian energy groups, increasingly focused on green generation. An even stronger trend for hydroelectric biggies such as Enel, A2A and Edison. It was precisely the group controlled by the municipalities of Milan and Brescia that, in the first quarter, had recorded 'in a small way' what had happened on a national scale in April, with production from renewables overtaking fossil fuels.