Electricity sector in Italy
[4] Italy has a high share of electricity in the total final energy consumption.
[8] In 2018, gross electricity production in Italy reached 289.7 TWh, down 2.1% compared to 2017;[9] thermal power stations ensured 66.5% of production and renewable energies 33.5%: hydraulic 17.4%, solar 7.8%, wind 6.1% and geothermal 2.1% (note: this statistic includes biomass and waste in the thermal).
[17] During the decade 1997-2007, natural gas power plants experienced strong growth, rising from 24 to 55% of total electricity production; since 2009 they have fallen sharply, falling to 33.5% in 2014, but still representing 53.4% of thermal generation; from 2015 to 2017, they resumed their progression: +35% in two years, rising to 48.4% of total electricity production and 67.2% of thermal production in 2017 (66.9% in 2018);[17] the rest of this production is provided by coal (14.8%; down 42% from its peak in 2012 after experiencing a 24% rebound in 2011-12, as in the whole of Europe due to the drop in coal prices caused by the shale gas boom in the United States), gases derived from processes (1.3%), petroleum products (1.7%), other fuels (mainly biomass, as well as tar, refinery gas, recovered heat, etc.)
[20] In 2017, Enel plans to achieve its goal of zero CO2 emissions, initially set for 2050, 10 years in advance.
[24] Energy from hydro accounted for about 18% of the national production in 2010, with hydroelectric plants located mainly in the Alps and the Apennines.
[27] Production by type of development evolved as follows: The number and power of plants by size is: Italy was the first country in the world to exploit geothermal energy to produce electricity.
[31] The high geothermal gradient that forms part of the peninsula makes it potentially exploitable also in other regions; research carried out in the 1960s and 1970s identified potential geothermal fields in Lazio and Tuscany, as well as in most volcanic islands.
[31] Prince Piero Ginori Conti tested the first geothermal power generator on 4 July 1904 in Larderello, in the province of Pisa.
[36] Wind farms are mainly located in the six southern regions: 90% of the number of sites, 90.5% of the installed capacity and 90.6% of the production in 2017:[36] Italy is a fairly large producer of solar thermal energy: at the end of 2017, Italy had 4.1 Mm2 (millions of m2) of collectors, whose heat production amounted in 2017 to 8,745 TJ ( around 209 ktoe), up 4.3% compared to 2016 and 34.4% since 2012;[37] the residential sector represents 74% of the total, and the tertiary sector 20%;[37] the most producing provinces are Lombardy (17.3%), Veneto (13.6%) and Piedmont (10.1%).
Much concern has arisen because Italy is in a seismically active area, placing it at greater risk for a nuclear accident.
[50] Minister of Economic Development Claudio Scajola proposed to build as many as 10 new reactors, with the goal of increasing the nuclear share of Italy's electricity supply to about 25% by 2030.
[62] The first electric power plants in Italy were carbon-fueled and were built during the end of the 19th century near city centers.
Plants had to be close to the place of consumption due to the use of direct current and low voltage electricity, which limits greatly the possible transmission distance.
[63] Some of its components are on display in the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan.
[64] Following the development of high-voltage transmission on long distances, Italy began to utilize hydroelectric power.
The new entity incorporated all the previous private companies operating in Italy since the end of the 19th century.
[68] The new entity, which absorbed more than 1,000 previously private companies,[70] faced a rapid growth of electricity demand during the subsequent decade.
This trend changed partly after the 1970s oil crisis, which induced Enel to rethink its energy strategy.
[73] The liberation of the electricity sector from government control started in the late 1990s following European Union directives.
[76][77] Control was definitively transferred by Enel as a result of the sale to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti on 15 September 2005 of 29.99% of Terna's share capital.
[78] In order to improve competition and to develop a free market for production, Enel was also forced to sell 15,000 MW of capacity to competitors before 2003.
