Recent energy price shocks have demonstrated that Italy needs to diversify its energy sources including through more rapid development of renewable energy, delegates at the KEY Energy Transition Expo in Rimini heard today.
Speaking at the event’s opening ceremony today, Italian Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin (pictured), said recent events in the Middle East have exposed the country’s reliance on imported energy and shown the importance of producing more domestically, including renewables.
“We need to push for an increased use of renewables for both security and decarbonisation,” said Fratin. He added: “We need to add more sources, including solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal.”
Fratin also said that gas is an important element of the energy mix as it provides flexibility and continuity in supply. Green hydrogen and nuclear energy should also be part of the sustainable development picture in Italy, he said. “This is how we need to move forward.”
Fratin acknowledged the challenges that renewable energy investors have faced in Italy, and those active in the wind sector in particular. “We have been hindered by, for example, discussions over (priority) areas for renewables, and this has to be resolved,” he said. “We also need to invest in the grid and make permitting times shorter to help investors implement their plans.
“If we lay the foundations and the best conditions then investment will come.”
Fratin added that a secure energy system would be the foundation for economic growth in Italy, and that electricity demand is expected to grow from around 300 terawatt-hours currently to 500TWh in the next 20 years.