di Fabio Terni



For years, Italy has been regarded as a sort of Eldorado for investing in renewable energies, thanks, amongst other things, to an undeniably generous incentive scheme. All of a sudden, it seems like the curtain has fallen on our country, turning it from a promised land into a barren field.
Is it really all over?

Nuova Energia asked Gianluca Veneroni, Country Manager of EDP Renewables in Italy, to offer readers the insights of an international expert. “It is certainly true that the RES market and wind power in particular, is undergoing a transition.
As an emerging market it attracted a lot of investors, not necessarily just industrial operators, who were seeking high returns thanks to the incentive scheme. These investors sometimes ignored the business fundamentals, which involve the selection of an area with strong wind resources and a technically sound, professional approach throughout the entire process, from design to construction and O&M of the plant”.[...]



The situation is now changing?
**Of course, and several factors are reshaping the Italian RES sector into a mature market, including EU guidelines aimed at optimising the incentive schemes by allocating them through competitive tenders, and the modification of the energy market scheme currently under discussion. EDPR strongly believes that this new market landscape will provide industrial operators with a strong, solid background in the business with an attractive environment in which to grow.


Do you think new greenfield investments are still feasible in Italy, or should we be looking at upgrading current facilities, or even setting our sights on other countries?
** I think greenfield investments are much harder to come by than in the past, but there are still opportunities. The 20/20 target, improved by Italy’s National Strategy for Energy (SEN) which was approved in 2013, coupled with the COP 21 in Paris, clearly indicates that there is room for new plants.
Italian Prime Minister Renzi has also outlined plans to achieve an energy mix target of 50% RES by the end of the Government’s current term in office.[...]

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