In May, Italy produced over half of its energy from renewable sources

In the month of May, in Italy, over half of the energy demand was produced by renewable sources, marking the highest monthly value ever.This was announced yesterday by Terna, the public company that manages the electricity grid, which certified that last month renewable sources specifically covered 52.5% of Italian electricity demand, over 10% more than the May 2023, in which 42.3% was recorded.

The data is only the latest stage of a trend that seems to be emerging very clearly.In fact, in the phase between January and May 2024, the renewable capacity in operation in Italy has view an increase of 3,015 Gigawatts, or 42% more than in the same time frame in 2023. The government's plans for 2024 are to reach 8 Gigawatts.Specifically, in May 2024, compared to the same month of the previous year, there was an increase in hydroelectric (+34.7%), wind (+10.5%) and photovoltaic (+36.3 %).The latter, according to what was reconstructed by Terna, is the result of the increase in operating capacity (+669 GWh) and greater radiation (+393 GWh).The statistics released by the company also highlight that last month the demand for Italian electricity almost 85% of it was met by national production and for just over 15% from the balance of energy exchanged with foreign countries.Net national production amounted to 21.2 billion kW, while electricity demand reached 24.7 billion kWh, growing by 1.9% compared to May 2023.Furthermore, in the first five months of the current year, the production of renewable electricity even made its mark an increase of +80% (19,613 GWh in just five months, almost 9 thousand more than the same period last year).The effects of the 110% Superbonus were certainly the driving force:suffice it to say that, as reported by the data presented by the Energy Services Manager, in 2023 alone almost 80% of the new installations of photovoltaic systems were accomplished from the residential segment under the pressure of the tax relief provided by the measure.Another factor that seems to have been decisive is the weather favorable to hydroelectricity in the Northern regions, with winter snowfall and abundant spring rain.According to what was certified by the Po River District Basin Authority, water availability is superior compared to the values ​​usually recorded at this stage of the year.

Our country follows what is, to all intents and purposes, a orientation now fully underway on a global scale.Indeed, as emerged from the fifth edition of the Global Electricity Review report by energy think tank Ember – which covers electricity data from 215 countries and the latest 2023 data for 80 countries representing 92% of global electricity demand electricity –, renewable energy sources are in the global energy mix pass from 19% in 2000 to over 30% by 2023.The result is the result of the increase in solar and wind energy, which went from 0.2% in 2000 to 13.4% in 2023.Therefore, last year, the carbon intensity of global electricity production reached a new historic low, 12% less than the 2007 peak.For the first time, as the report certified, the global energy system was able to count on almost a third of electricity generated from non-fossil sources.

[by Stefano Baudino]