Italy: electricity, coal and climate change Introduction Italy is a net energy importer, presently consuming about six times more energy than it produces. Having scarce domestic energy resources, Italy relies on imports for almost all of its crude oil, natural gas and coal. Oil provided 47 per cent of Italy’s primary energy consumption in 2004. Natural gas was the second largest contributor to energy supply meeting 35 per cent of the country’s primary energy consumption, followed by minor contributions from coal (8 per cent), hydroelectricity (5 per cent), and other renewables (2 per cent). Coal and the electricity sector Italy was one of the first European countries to completely end domestic coal production. Its last facility closed in 2001. However, efforts are underway to reopen at least one coal mine in the south of Sardinia, near the city of Carbonia. Coal reserves at this location are of very low quality, meaning that combustion would yield a high ratio of pollution compared to useful energy. Italy currently imports coal from a variety of countries including South Africa, Colombia and the United States. Electricity Generation by Fuel, 2005 Source: IEA Energy Statistics Italy is ranked as the twelfth largest electricity consumer in the world, and fourth in the EU, accounting for about 2 per cent of global annual electricity consumption. Over the past decade, Italy’s demand for electricity has outstripped supply, resulting in an increased shared of electricity imports as a percentage of total consumption. Electricity demand is now nearly 30 per cent higher than it was a decade ago. The country presently imports more than 17 per cent of the electricity it consumes, relying primarily on imports from France and Switzerland. Presently, coal supplies 14-15 per cent of the power produced in Italy. ENEL, the former state utility now partially privatised, is planning to convert several old large oilfired power stations to coal, in order to have a “better” energy mix. The first of these, already under construction, is a 2000 MW power station in Civitavecchia, near Rome, Greenpeace International Ottho Heldringstraat 5 1066 AZ Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0) 20 5148150 Web: http://www.greenpeace.org Press Desk Hotline +31 (0) 20 7182470 General media Inquiries E-mail: pressdesk@int.greenpeace.org Press Desk Fax +31 (0) 20 5148156 which is expected to come on line by 2011. A second 2000 MW station is planned in Porto Tolle, in the River Po delta: online in 2016. These two plants will emit an additional 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (Mt CO2) per year. By comparison, coalfired power stations throughout the whole of Italy emitted 41 Mt CO2 in 2005. Total emissions from coal fired power stations in Italy, 2005 (Mt CO2) CO2 Emissions Power Station Utility Company (Mt CO2) Brindisi Sud Fusina Fiumesanto Vado Ligure La Spezia Monfalcone Genova Sulcis Marghera Brindisi Nord Bastardo ENEL ENEL Endesa Tirreno Power ENEL ENdesa ENEL ENEL ENEL ENEL Edipower TOTAL 15.3 5.6 4.1 3.7 3.2 2.7 2 1.5 1 1 0.9 41.0 Energy Efficiency Investing in coal-fired power stations undermines Italy meeting its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help protect the climate. Instead of continuing to invest in dirty energy, the country should invest in its domestic renewable energy potential improve energy efficiency. La rivoluzione dell’efficienza, a report prepared for Greenpeace by eERG, a group focused on end-use energy efficiency, together with Politecnico di Milano, shows that promoting and disseminating efficient technologies from now until 2020 would allow approximate savings of 100 terawatt per year (TWh/year) in electrical energy consumption. This confirms estimates from EU documents (for example its Energy Efficiency Action plan) which identify a cost-effective energy-saving potential for Italy of roughly 20 per cent of energy use. Deploying only those measures which are already cost-effective could deliver a cumulative economic benefit (net of investments) of €65 billion (in real terms 2007), and energy savings growing year-by-year up to 83 TWh/year. The related reduction in CO2 emissions, amounting to around 50 million tonnes per year in 2020, could be achieved at zero cost and would represent a net economic benefit for society. To highlight one example, banning conventional energy-wasting incandescent light bulbs in Italy, and replacing them with much more efficient compact fluorescents, could avoid CO2 emissions of up 3 million tonnes per year and realise energy savings for consumers valued at up to €1 billion each year. -2-
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