State aid, green light from the EU Commission for Italy to support "immature" renewables

The decree developed by the Italian government plans to support the construction of off-shore wind farms, floating photovoltaic plants and more

Green light from the European Commission for the state aid planned by Italy to support the development of renewables.Today the community executive approved the draft decree which promotes the construction of production plants from renewable sources that are not fully mature or have high costs, the so-called "FER2".This is a category that includes off-shore wind plants, geothermal plants, photovoltaic plants floating on water, but also all those plants that generate energy by exploiting the tides or the wave motion of the sea.The Italian government's goal is to incentivize these technologies to reach a total capacity of 4.6 gigawatts by the end of 2028.Until then, the measure will be financed by a levy from bills paid by consumers.

The green light from Brussels

The green light from Brussels to Italy came thanks also to the new rules on state aid introduced with the Industrial Plan for the Green Deal.To accelerate the energy transition of EU countries, the European Commission has simplified the regulatory framework on public subsidies, widening the controls for all those projects that serve to achieve community strategic objectives.Commenting on the approval from Brussels that arrived today, the Minister for the Environment Gilberto Pichetto Fratin speaks of "an important step forward towards our energy goals", which will allow us to "enable new technologies fundamental for decarbonisation".The European Commission has given the green light to the project, setting the maximum amount that Italy will be able to disburse at 35.3 billion.The project developed by the Italian government, we read in one Note of the Commission, contributes to the achievement of the strategic objectives of the European Green Deal, while at the same time helping to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

The push on renewables

Further confirmation on the need to accelerate investments in renewables also comes from the International Energy Agency.In research published on Tuesday 4 June, the IEA estimated that the national decarbonisation plans of UN countries envisage reaching a total of 8 thousand gigawatts of renewable capacity in 2030, 30% less than theobjective of 11 thousand gigawatts set at COP28 in Dubai.Yet, underlines general director Fatih Birol, the target is perfectly achievable.In fact, from 2015 to today, the amount of renewable capacity added in the world every year has tripled, also thanks to support policies, economies of scale and technological progress.Today, the IEA report specifies, the main obstacles to the energy transition remain the long waiting times for project permits, inadequate investments in network infrastructure and high financial costs, especially in emerging and developing countries.