In May, renewables covered 50% of electricity demand in Italy
Energy — di Rudi Bressa
Helped by a sharp drop in electricity consumption, renewables in Italy reached their all-time high, while also cutting emissions.
In May, renewables covered 50% of electricity demand in Italy
Helped by a sharp drop in electricity consumption, renewables in Italy reached their all-time high, while also cutting emissions.
It is one of the effects of the pandemic, which has not only caused a sharp contraction of the economy and related consumption. Energy consumption too recorded a sharp reduction (of up to 22 per cent) in the second quarter of 2020, running from April to June. The lowest point was reached in April with -30 per cent. And this only served to increase the contribution of renewables in Italy's energy mix, which covered, for the first time, 50 per cent of electricity demand.
This is according to Enea, in its quarterly analysis of the Italian energy system, which also shows a significant decrease in CO2 emissions of 26 per cent in the second quarter and 17 per cent in the first half of the year. "The drop in consumption and emissions is unprecedented," explains in a statement Francesco Gracceva, an Enea researcher responsible for the analysis. "And, even under the optimistic assumption of a return to normality in the second half of the year, by the end of 2020 the decline will probably exceed the negative record reached in 2009."
Renewables in Italy at an all-time high
Electricity consumption also fell sharply (-13 per cent) compared to the previous year, bringing renewables to supply half of our country's electricity demand. Solar and wind alone produced 20 per cent of electricity. But while low-emission energy sources are growing on one hand, fossil fuel consumption is falling on the other: in the second quarter, demand for oil fell by 30 per cent, natural gas by 18 per cent, and electricity imports by 70 per cent. In short, a scenario in line with the decarbonisation of the electricity system, which is necessary to meet climate targets.
"However," Enea explains, "preliminary estimates show a recovery in energy consumption in July compared to previous months, though still well below the levels of the same month in 2019."
A trend that mirrors the rest of Europe, recorded in the first half of 2020: renewables generated 40 per cent of electricity in the EU-27, surpassing fossil fuels (at 34 per cent) for the first time, and causing CO2 emissions from the energy sector to fall by 23 per cent over the same period.
Renewable energy grew by 11 per cent in the first half of 2020, driven once again by the growth of wind and solar. Both sectors recorded unprecedented market shares this year, generating 21% of total European electricity and reaching even higher levels in Denmark (64%), Ireland (49%) and Germany (42%).
But it is not all positive. The marked growth of renewables has led to a deterioration in the security of the energy system. This is primarily due to the penetration of intermittent renewable sources. Fuel-fired power plants remain essential today for maintaining the so-called "base-load" — that is, the minimum level of load on the electricity grid. The report indeed states that "the introduction of unconventional, inertia-free generation, while fundamental in terms of sustainability, poses problems for system security, understood as the ability of the transmission system to withstand abnormal operating conditions caused by natural, accidental or intentional events." This is, in other words, the eternal dilemma in the debate between renewables and conventional production. But if the system held up with half of electricity production coming from renewables, it is clear that progress has been made.
L’impatto delle #rinnovabili sul mercato elettrico dopo lo stress test da #Covid_19. È il tema attualissimo di uno studio dell’Università di @Stanford, a cui ha collaborato anche un analista di #Terna. Leggi l’approfondimento su Lightbox ➡️lightbox.terna.it/it/studio-Stan…
Renewables at 40% in August
Terna also confirms the trend: in August, energy demand continued to fall, by -1.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2019. This figure was obtained with the same number of working days (21) and an average temperature broadly in line with that of August of the previous year. The decline is also confirmed in the contraction recorded over the first eight months of 2020, which stands at 7.7 per cent. Against this backdrop, from January to August, renewables covered a total of 40 per cent of electricity demand, objectively setting a new record. Wind (+66 per cent) and photovoltaic (+2.2 per cent) both grew.