Renewable energy is growing, but it is not enough to meet the 2030 goals

With 5.79 GW of new renewable capacity in 2023, in Italy After 12 years of low and insufficient installations, clean energy sources are starting to grow and register again +5.1 GW compared to 2012 and +2.6 GW compared to 2022. The driving force is solar PV with 5.23 GW of new installed capacity, followed by wind which is recording, albeit at a slower pace, an increase in capacity of 487 MW.. These are some of the data published in the nineteenth edition of Renewable Municipalities Report by Legambientewhich has been defined as “important but not yet sufficient to achieve the 2030 goals.”

According to the report, From north to south, renewable energy sources are now present in almost all Italian municipalities, in 7,891 municipalities out of a total of 7,896.. 2023 is the year of solar PV: 7,860 municipalities (+560 compared to 2022) have chosen this clean source, bringing the total to 30.2 GW of total capacity. According to the first data from 2024, there is still a 52% increase in renewable capacity in operation compared to the same period in 2023.
This significant growth of more than 5 GW in one year is characterized above all by the construction of small plants. Among the largest cities, Rome, with 4,890 solar systems and 32.05 MW of installed capacity, Padua (1,918 systems and 15.03 MW) and Ravenna (1,519 systems and 11.07 MW) are the cities that in 2023 supported the largest solar PV installations. . Slowing growth of wind energy, distributed among 1,043 municipalities, able to meet 7.6% of the country’s electricity needs: 101 new plants built in 2023 covering 61 municipalities between Puglia and Basilicata, Sicily and Sardinia. Positive data also for hydropower with 1,971 municipalities (+398 compared to 2022) having at least one plant producing electricity with this technology.

According to the average installations in the last three years, “only at this rate in 2046 – with a delay of 16 years compared to 2030 – will Italy reach 100% of the targets and be able to meet the quota of 90 GW of installations.” Renewable energy» explains the report presented in Rome at the headquarters of the Energy Services Executive (GSE), the partner in the analysis.

“There is a great agitation in the country that starts from the bottom and sees many companies as heroes, but it is often hampered by slow administrative procedures, regulatory and cultural obstacles, and outdated rules,” Ligampinte observed. Specifically, according to Legambiente, There are a lot of projects still stalledawaiting evaluation by the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, or because of the rejection of the Ministry of Culture, or because of the delay of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in resolving the differences between the two ministries, or the number of connection requests, which are on the rise.” According to what we read in the report, the Meloni government’s policy on gas Nuclear energy also has an impact, along with transverse blocks, such as the moratorium in Sardinia, local protests and delays in assessments and licensing by the government regions, with the only exception of the Campania region.