To make the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan concrete and feasible, the Government, companies and consumers must work side by side from a system perspective. Companies are ready to do their part right away, considering that industrial plans and strategies have been going in the right direction for some time now. However, it is necessary to remove the obstacles to unlock all the unexpressed potential of Italian industry with respect to the objectives set by the PNIEC.
These are the key messages that emerged on Friday 4 October, al final workshop of the PEC Monitor, the Energy and Climate Plan Observatory promoted by Agici Finanza d'Impresa (a leading company in research and consultancy in the utilities, renewables, infrastructure and energy efficiency sectors) and by 20 associations and companies (A2A, ABB, Acea, Anigas, CESI, Edison, Elettricità Futura, Enel, ERG Renew, Falck Renewables, Hera Luce, Iren, Italtel, Montello, Motus-E, Rilegno, SECI Energia, Snam, Toyota Motor Italia, Utilitalia).
The event was an opportunity to discuss future strategies in the sectors covered by the Plan with national and international players. The resulting picture bodes well: the operators involved already have various projects and initiatives under their belts that are in line with the Plan. By revamping older wind farms capable of tripling production with the same occupied land, the possibility of capturing biomethane from waste and introducing it into the gas network. From the innovative systems that will bring district heating to the redevelopment of public lighting, passing through cutting-edge super-fast electric recharging technologies for electric buses and electrification.
Some companies have already internalized more ambitious objectives in their business plans than those present in the Plan, seeking synergies with other sectors. Topics such as the circular economy and the smart city, which appear only marginally in the PNIEC, are instead at the center of the strategies of large multi-utility companies, for example. Hydrogen mobility, advanced telecommunications and integration between electricity and gas networks are no longer relegated to futuristic projects but are considered concrete and achievable goals by the end of the decade.
“It is necessary – this is the comment of Raffaele Tiscar, President of Monitor PEC – that the National Energy and Climate Plan is seen as an opportunity for the country to design a new industrial policy with a view to decarbonisation and sustainability. The central theme will be the role of management, coordination and, in some cases, obtaining the financial resources of the Government and of all the institutions involved".
“The Energy and Climate Plan – he declared Marco Carta CEO of Agici -, with its challenging goals, is becoming an engine of change for companies that are rethinking their organizations as well as R&D growth strategies in an innovative way. This is happening with a speed and radicality that is in some respects unexpected. The companies are ready, now it's up to politics to trace the path to get investments off the ground".
