In the electricity sector, 37% of Italian consumption in 2020 was satisfied by renewable sources, with a production of about 116 TWh, thanks also to new plants installed for over 900 MW of power (of which about 750 of photovoltaics) and to increase in photovoltaic production, due to greater solar radiation.
This was announced this morning by the Energy Services Manager (Gse), the public company for the promotion of renewable sources.
With coverage from renewable sources estimated at 20% of overall energy consumption in the electricity, thermal and transport sectors, Italy in 2020 exceeded the objectives set by the European Union (17% by 2020 for Italy).
At the end of 2020, approximately 950,000 plants for the production of electricity from renewable sources were in operation in Italy, for a total power of over 56 GW. Of these plants, nearly 936,000 are photovoltaic, about 5,700 wind, while the rest are powered by other sources (hydraulics, geothermal, bioenergy).
Over 15 billion euros for the promotion of sustainability, of which 11.9 for the incentive of electricity produced from renewable sources, 1.1 billion for energy efficiency and for renewables in the thermal sector, 1 billion dedicated to biofuels. In addition, proceeds from CO2 auctions within the European ETS (Emission Trading Scheme) mechanism are 1.3 billion euros. These are the main numbers relating to the activity carried out in 2020 by the Energy Services Manager, a company of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which in Italy promotes renewable sources and energy efficiency.
Despite the impacts of the pandemic, in 2020 the Operator favored the activation of new investments, public and private, in the green economy sector for about 2.2 billion, while electricity generated from renewable sources and the energy savings induced by the interventions incentives have avoided the emission of 42 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, equal to the consumption of 109 million barrels of oil. On the other hand, the employment linked to new and ongoing initiatives supported by the GSE is estimated at 51 thousand annual work units (full-time equivalent).
The costs incurred by the GSE for the incentives and withdrawal of electricity amounted to 12.9 billion euros in 2020. These costs were partially offset by revenues, amounting to approximately 1 billion euros, from the sale of 29.2 TWh of green energy withdrawn by the GSE and placed on the electricity market. The difference between costs and revenues resulted in a charge on the ASOS component of the bill for 2020 (costs for supporting renewables) of approximately 11.9 billion euros (the increase compared to 11.4 in 2019 is linked to the greater production of energy from renewable sources and the simultaneous reduction in revenues linked to the sale of energy).
In 2020, there were 113,498 applications for access to the Thermal Account (the incentive for the energy requalification of buildings), corresponding to 451 million euros of incentives requested: 320 million in direct access (by companies and individuals) and 131 million relating to interventions booked by the Public Administration.
In 2020, the Operator recognized just over 1.7 million Energy Efficiency Certificates, of which 59% for interventions in the industrial sector, 32% in the civil sector, 5.5% for lighting projects and the remainder in the sector. of transport.
The GSE in 2020 handled more than 429 thousand support requests.
On access to incentives and the energy requalification of public buildings, it provided support to over 3,100 public bodies, providing training to over 2,500 technicians of the Public Administration.
In 2020, the GSE developed a project to verify the applicability and added value of blockchain technology, with particular attention to the end-to-end tracking of the biofuel chain, to support sustainable mobility and energy communities. Through the "GSE Incontra le scuola" project, about 1,680 primary and secondary school students from all over Italy were trained last year.