Il Simplifications decree must be reviewed to accelerate the spread of renewables in our country. This is the appeal expressed by the main Italian and European green energy associations who have invited the Italian government to adopt an ambitious decree, so as to hope to achieve the objectives set by the EU and the Pnrr. In recent years, Italy has averaged less than 1 GW per year under current permitting times, while it would need at least 7 GW of renewable capacity each year if it is to meet the Green Deal targets. At this rate,"our 2030 goals will not be achieved before 2090".
According to the main electricity associations at European level (SolarPower Europe, WindEurope, ANEV, ANIE Rinnovabili, Elettricità Futura and Italia Solare), the priority is the adoption of a robust simplification decree, the first step envisaged by the Italian recovery plan, in order to overcome all those limits set by the issuance of permits for renewable energy projects.
Specifically, this decree aims to simplify the authorization rules and to build an efficient governance system for investments made under the Next Generation US. It was published in the Official Gazette last year 31st May and must be signed into law by the end of July. Thus, the decree is now in the crucial stage of parliamentary discussion with a limited number of amendments selected and voted on. The decree goes in the right direction, according to the associations, but some crucial measures are still missing, starting with its provisions on projects to repower plants from renewable sources.
While “the RED II directive requires shorter permitting times for repower projects than for greenfield projects.” In fact, in Italy the authorization procedure for repowered wind farms is the same as for greenfield ones. The country needs to overcome the "voluntary incentive spreads", by removing the remaining limitations and tariff disadvantages for repowering projects that have not adhered to this scheme. This is necessary to ensure a level playing field in upcoming auctions. Currently almost 50% of all renewable projects are abandoned and the other 50% are subject to about 6 years of delay before obtaining permits, write the associations in a joint note.
“The EU is committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 – he commented Malgosia Bartosik, Deputy CEO of WindEurope -. In its final National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) for 2030, Italy aims to nearly double its installed wind capacity, with a combination of new installations and the repowering of existing wind farms. Half of Italy's capacity will reach the end of its operational life by 2030. In its current form, the Simplifications decree does not do enough to facilitate permits for repowered wind farms. It still contains restrictions that prevent the use of the latest technologies available, which will make it difficult, if not impossible, for Italy to achieve its 2030 goals.
This phase of the legislative process is also very important for the sector PV, given that in our country there is still no efficient solution for photovoltaic systems installed on the ground. Therefore, the Simplifications decree can also represent a support for agri-voltaics, but risks being ineffective if not inefficient.
On the question Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower EuropeHe added: “The potential for solar PV is very high in Italy, but this capacity will not be achieved unless administrative hurdles are overcome. Removing permit restrictions is a necessary step to accelerate solar deployment, and the process of transposing RED II into national law is also a key opportunity to address simplification of PV repowering."
