CERNOBBIO: Italy could fail to meet carbon emission reduction targets agreed at the European Union level due to delays in key green transition areas, including renewable power generation and energy storage systems, a study showed on Saturday.
The report, prepared by energy group Edison and think tank TEHA Group, indicated Italy could take 10 years longer than anticipated to deploy renewables and storage infrastructure, potentially preventing the country from hitting EU-set decarbonisation goals for 2030.
The study recommended streamlining permitting processes, providing certainty for investments and reducing energy costs. By combining hydropower storage with advanced nuclear power generation and carbon capture technologies, Italy could add €190 billion to its economy by 2050, the report calculated.
Italy could develop hydropower storage with an estimated 13.6 gigawatt potential across 56 new sites, supporting energy security and climate resilience, the study said.
“We must reduce our energy and technological dependence on foreign countries, enhance domestic supply chains such as hydroelectric pumping and build European partnerships around emerging technologies, from next-generation nuclear to carbon capture”, Edison CEO Nicola Monti said, commenting on the study.
Italy’s solar projects face costs currently 20% higher than in France, Germany and Spain due to power grid congestion, land availability and lengthy approval processes, the report added.
US stocks closed slightly lower on Friday, with the Dow shedding almost half a per cent, the S&P 500 dipping about a third of a per cent and the Nasdaq ending roughly flat. — Reuters
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