With the publication of the Energy Decree in the Official Gazette at the end of April, the Government unveiled its cards on the ecological transition table. However, the commitment to a greener Italy also passes through the institutional halls of Brussels, in particular from the energy plan “REPowerEu” presented by the European Commission.
With a double goal at the top of the list: accelerate an end to the EU’s energy dependence on Russia and fossil fuels in general and give a decisive boost to the sector of energy renewable (here we have explained what is meant by ecological transition and what it is based on).
What the Energy Decree provides
The provision, entered into force on April 29, contains urgent measures to contain the costs of electricity and natural gas, for the development of renewable energies and for the relaunch of industrial policies. The rules contained in the decree are also aimed at achieving other objectives:
- the assignment of credit for bonuses relating to construction works;
- streamlining of authorization procedures for renewable plants;
- the squeeze on the heating and air conditioning systems of public buildings and public lighting.
The measures amount to almost 8 billion euros, of which approximately 5.5 billion will be allocated to countering the high cost of energy. The remaining part will instead go to support the production chains that are suffering the most at this stage. Specifically, the intervention of the State is divided into two main strands:
- rules to calm the costs of bills in a short time;
- rules that will allow in the future to avoid other crises like the current one, for example by increasing national energy production.
Renewables, simplifications for the installation of systems
As regards purely “green” issues, the decree also introduces numerous measures of simplification for the installation of renewable energy plants and in the field of electricity infrastructures. Not only that: the renewable fund for small and medium-sized enterprises (precisely for businesses, the Government has come up with new aids: all the details).
In detail, it will be possible to apply the single simplified model also for photovoltaic and thermal systems with power above 50 kW and up to 200 kW, built in free construction. The use of the model was already foreseen for the communication of the installation of small photovoltaic systems on the roofs of buildings up to 50 kW.
Among the measures totally rewritten during the conversion of the text into law, it stands out Article 9. Paragraph 1 cites the simplifications we have mentioned regarding the installation of photovoltaic and thermal solar systems on buildings. In particular, the provision establishes that the installation is not subject to the acquisition of permitsauthorizations or administrative acts of consent.
The Aid Decree and the “push” to renewables
In addition to the Energy Decree, the Government also intends the Aid it will help boost renewable sources. The most important news concern the enlargement of “suitable areas” the installation of wind and solar parks and the possibility of installing photovoltaic panels on the roofs of farms.
If on the one hand the “Exceptional situation”as defined in the text published in the Official Gazette, “justifies the maximization of the use of plants” that exploit fossil sources, on the other hand it prepares the ground for the definitive boom of green energy.
At the beginning of May, the Minister of Ecological Transition presented the decree Roberto Cingolani had explained: “To try to save a few billion cubic meters of gas, we decided in a previous decree to continue using the four coal-fired power plants that went towards a progressive phase-out. We will use them reasonably for 18 months, maximum two years “.
As for the photovoltaic systems on the roofs of farms, zootechnical e agroindustrialiState aid recipients will also be able to sell the electricity produced. The measure also regulates the so-called energy communities. In this regard, it is stated that the Ministry of Defense “will be able to establish national renewable energy communities with other central and local public administrations, even for plants exceeding 1 MW”.
The plan of Europe: what it is worth and what it foresees
The declared objective of the EU to want itself release “within 5 years” from fossil fuels imported from Russia led to the definition of an energy plan that could impart the desired breakthrough to the ecological transition process. His name is “RePowerEu” and will be implemented within the Green Deal.
The value of the energy program amounts to 300 billion euros, divided into 225 billion in loans and grants and 75 billion in loans. To achieve its green goals, Europe has come up with 4 mosse fundamentals:
- Abandon Moscow, find other gas suppliers and acquire new infrastructure (such as pipelines and terminals for liquefied natural gas)
- Accelerate the growth of renewables and increase the use of clean energy
- Increase the commitment on the front of energy saving and efficiency
- Apply a new “solar” strategy.
Funds are also provided for cohesion or agricultural development policies, without forgetting the resources made available by ETS, the European compensation system for the emission of carbon dioxide in production processes.
The RePowerEu on the obligation of solar panels
And let’s look at this strategy in detail. In the draft of the “RePowerEu” program we talk about incentives to citizens for the installation of solar panels, heat pumps with accumulators (here we talked about the photovoltaic bonus in Italy: how it works and how to get it).
Not only that: Brussels would also like to introduce the obligation to supply solar panels for all new buildings and for buildings with high consumption, indicatively from energy class D. “We propose to make solar panels mandatory for commercial and public buildings by 2025 and for new residential buildings by 2029“Said the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
“We will start with the most obvious thing: saving energy is the fastest and cheapest way to tackle the current energy crisis,” stressed von der Leyen. “We will therefore increase the EU’s energy efficiency target for 2030 from 9% to 13%. And we are increasing the 2030 target for renewable energy of the EU from 40% to 45% “.
The “dark side” of the European green plan
The war in Ukraine has made the issue of the energy transition pressing, giving a boost to the various national governments and to the European Union which, however, in haste, could lose its way.
While introducing important measures in favor of renewables, as already mentioned the RePowerEu allows at the same time nearly 50 projects and expansions of fossil fuel infrastructure. Its environmental potential is thus partially compromised, as is its ability to combat climate change.
The decisions of the European summits in the coming months will be decisive in this regard. Provided that they know how to fit in the best possible way in a “revolutionized” geopolitical context, maintaining the political and environmental objectives on which Brussels has been working for years.
