A completely new site, deliberately full of colors but above all able to offer more and more services not only to businesses, "which are the real engine of the decarbonization challenge", but also to citizens, who can not only interact with the Energy Services Manager (Gse) to, for example, install a private photovoltaic system, "but also find all the information on energy efficiency and advice to save on bills and protect the environment”.
It was presented in Rome by the president Francesco Sperandini, the new site of the GSE, which has the objective of contributing to the great challenge launched by the National Energy Strategy, presented in November by the Mise and which aims at the cessation of the production of electricity from coal between now and 2030, with energy consumption from renewable sources which would rise to 28% from the 17,5% achieved in 2015 and now consolidated. “Italy – commented Sperandini – has already reached and surpassed the 2020 targets set by Europe in advance: consumption from renewables had to reach 17% and our country started from 6,3% in 2004, while at the European level it started from 8,3% and now some countries have yet to reach the target”.
"We are a global leader in environmental sustainability" added the president of the GSE, explaining that "the new site is deliberately proactive and is aimed at the so-called prosumers, citizens who, by interacting with us, must become increasingly aware of issues related to CO2 and particulate emissions and increasingly involved in virtuous behaviour”. In fact, the challenge towards 2030 also starts from citizens and the new site provides not only the technical assistance that the Manager offers to private individuals on the production, consumption and accumulation of energy, but also a series of useful information on efficiency which primarily includes contributory aspects: in fact, in 2016 the GSE managed over 16 billion, i.e. a point of GDP, between incentives for production from renewable sources and the so-called white certificates, economic awards for virtuous companies. A figure which, as is known, is obtained from household bills, which reached a peak of 136 euros per family last year (about 16% of the bill), but which will be destined to drop from 2021. The new site also contains areas widely informative: "The site will also be useful for those who do not have transactions to do directly with us", Sperandini underlined.
The presentation of the new platform was also an opportunity to recall the latest data available on the Italian energy system, updated to 2016 and processed by Gse and Terna, from which it emerges that by now Italy is able to avoid the emission of 73 million tons of CO2 every year thanks to clean energy. As regards the part relating to electricity, production rose to 37,3% of total requirements, thanks to the 742.000 plants in operation, most of which hydroelectric (40%), then photovoltaic, bioenergy and finally wind, which, however, is the renewable of the moment, the one that has grown the most in the last period analysed. In fact, wind power production increased by 8% in 2016, thus allowing the system to compensate for the decline in photovoltaics (-3,7%) and to grow a little more.
As far as thermal energy is concerned, the percentage of consumption deriving from renewable sources is 19%, thanks above all to solid biomass (used above all in domestic heating, for example through pellet stoves), which alone covered 70% of consumption. As for biofuels, 1,2 million tons were introduced, almost all from biodiesel. Share of consumption: 7,2%, and the challenge is to bring it to at least 10%. In 2016, 1,8 billion were invested in new plants for electricity production, which also generated employment that the GSE defines as "temporary" for over 16.300 workers, which add up to the 40.000 permanent ones, most of whom in the hydroelectric and photovoltaic chain.
On the other hand, about 3 billion were invested in thermal plants, of which 2 for heat pumps, with "temporary" employment for 31.000 workers and a permanent management activity that employs another 34, with an expenditure of over 5 billion and an added value of 5 billion, estimated by the Gse. In the electricity sector, on the other hand, the expenditure for permanent management is 3,8 billion and the added value is just over 3 billion.
