In Italy, the ecobonus schemes for energy efficiency have activated one million interventions, equivalent to 9.5 billion euros over the past three years, of which 3.3 billion in 2016 alone. This was found by Enea, the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, which on Tuesday 11 July presented its Sixth Annual Report on Energy Efficiency in Rome. And in the coming years, growth is expected in the resources invested in the sector, as documented by further research carried out by the Energy&Strategy Group of the School of Management at the Politecnico di Milano.

14.2 million interventions in just under 20 years

Thanks to fiscal incentives for energy refurbishment (a 65 per cent tax deduction) and for building renovation (currently a 50 per cent tax deduction), more than 14.2 million interventions have been carried out, involving 55 per cent of Italian households in just under 20 years. The corresponding investments amount to 237 billion euros, of which 205 billion related to building renovation and around 32 billion to energy refurbishment.

15,000 energy audits in businesses: a European record

Last year, 15,000 energy audits were carried out in businesses across the country — a European record — and requests for incentives under the "Conto Termico" scheme for efficiency interventions in local public administrations grew by 300 per cent. Thanks to the interventions carried out, which have brought about a reduction in energy expenditure, Italy has saved 3.5 billion euros on oil and gas imports, benefiting not only household budgets but also the environment and the air quality in our cities.

Italy among the leading countries in Europe for energy efficiency

Year after year, citizens and businesses have learned to use the ecobonus schemes to refurbish and retrofit homes, offices and production facilities with an energy focus. But investments in efficiency are not limited to the ecobonus alone.

The E&S Group at the Politecnico di Milano, in its new report entitled Energy efficiency report 2017, has estimated that the Italian energy efficiency market will have an annual turnover of between 8 and 10 billion euros between 2017 and 2020. Investment forecasts for the next five-year period stand at between 29.8 and 34.4 billion euros, with an average annual turnover of between 7.5 and 8.6 billion. The energy efficiency market is in full consolidation and is expected to reach maturity shortly. In 2016, the E&S Group estimated investments of 6.13 billion euros — resources that helped bring Italy's energy intensity level to almost 17 per cent below the EU average: a particularly positive figure, since the lower the energy intensity value, the higher a country's energy efficiency. This result places Italy among the leaders in Europe in this field, and has also meant new jobs.

Energy efficiency creates employment

Between 2013 and 2016 — Enea reports — there were just under 270,000 direct jobs generated each year by tax deductions for building renovation and energy refurbishment; a figure that rises to more than 400,000 when the full supply chain effect is also taken into account.

The public administration lags behind

While businesses and citizens have learned to make use of the tools available for improving the energy efficiency of buildings and to navigate the economic and financial obstacles that hold back interventions — as documented by Enea's analysis — the public administration is finding it harder to take advantage of the opportunities on offer. Despite growing awareness of the issue, "a genuine leap in quality is needed for the public administration," said Enea president Federico Testa, who announced the creation of a dedicated operational task force, "PA-Obiettivo efficienza energetica," together with the Gestore servizi energetici (Gse), specifically to support the public administration in carrying out energy refurbishment interventions. The task force will begin its activities with a number of interventions in the Municipality of Assisi and other projects by Mibact under the Framework Agreement with Enea for technical and scientific support, seismic safety and the conservation of cultural heritage.

Energy efficiency is strategic for businesses

Energy efficiency is a topic that businesses are increasingly sensitive to. A survey of 183 companies carried out by the E&S Group reveals that as many as seven out of ten companies interviewed have implemented energy efficiency projects in the past year, and a significant number say they have increased their investments in the sector. "Energy efficiency interventions are gradually taking on a strategic role in business development," explained Vittorio Chiesa, director of the E&S Group, "and energy consumption is becoming a driver for assessing the residual useful life of an asset: a piece of machinery is considered obsolete when it begins to record consumption higher than the standard, and this is certainly an important paradigm shift."

Over the past five years, attention among industrial operators towards measuring and monitoring energy consumption has grown considerably, and a clear trend is emerging — particularly among energy-intensive players — towards the adoption of increasingly structured and integrated approaches to energy efficiency.

The uphill road of nearly zero-energy buildings in Italy

A further point to emerge from the E&S Group's analysis concerns the spread across the country of nearly zero-energy buildings, the so-called "nZEB buildings". At present, these are estimated to number between 650 and 850 units, of which 93 per cent are for residential use. Present exclusively in Trentino-Alto Adige, in Lombardy and to a lesser extent in Veneto, these construction methods have been unable to gain traction in Italy despite the significant benefits in terms of energy consumption. What is hampering their development — according to the E&S Group's analysis — is the investment payback period, estimated at around 30–40 years for office buildings, and even exceeding the useful life of the structure in the case of a residential villa. The additional cost of nZEB buildings therefore makes this model still far from being economically viable. This is a further barrier that Italy will need to address if it is to meet the particularly ambitious energy efficiency targets that lie ahead for 2030, set out in the Clean energy package of the European Union, which Italy has signed up to.

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