“The system is set to become increasingly complex and requires a transition from the old to the new that cannot afford mistakes. It is crucial to finalize the regulatory framework quickly, so that investment processes can be made safer and faster.”
THE SAFETY OF THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR DECARBONISATION
EF Solare Italia has always worked to support the development of renewable energy. It is committed to promoting research and studies that analyze the sector in depth, identifying its prospects and criticalities, to produce a reliable assessment of its results and medium-long-term objectives. The Group strives to accelerate the decarbonization process, promoting the technological transition towards green energies, because it is aware that the global scenario requires an urgent change of pace in the evolution of the electricity system.
Also this year EF Solare Italia has decided to take part in the Observatories promoted by the Energy&Strategy group of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, sponsoring the seventh edition of the Electricity Market Report, to provide all stakeholders with a greater awareness of the context in which they operate. With the presentation of the report, it was possible to outline an up-to-date picture of the evolutionary trajectories of the electricity system, stimulating discussion on the industrial and financial challenges impacting operators, and examining from a regulatory, technological, and market point of view the factors that can enable the evolution of renewable sources. The most relevant date set by Europe is 2030, in which stringent targets have been set to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and develop RES to ensure that an increasing share of final consumption is covered by renewables. At the same time, the national legislator is in the process of updating the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (NIPEC) to ensure the achievement of the increasingly challenging climate targets at the country level.
The accumulated delay in the transition to a more sustainable energy system, however, requires a rapid implementation of the regulatory framework of reference: 2022 was supposed to be the year of publication for the measures envisaged by the transposition of RED II and the PNRR measures, but geopolitical tensions have meant that everything has slipped in time, leading to uncertainty in investment choices by market operators.
It is also necessary to integrate renewable energy sources (RES) into the electricity system to a greater extent, through the management of their non-programmability, by investing in ever greater flexibility of the system. In this sense, storage systems will be an enabling factor for a more efficient use of renewables.
In addition, the massive amount of renewables that will connect to the grid in the coming years will change its appearance: at any voltage level, the grid will have to guarantee efficient management and safe electricity flows. This evolution requires a constant effort to improve and adapt even the regulatory and normative tools to ensure effective governance and optimal functioning of the electricity system.
Mariuccia Barresi, Head of Regulatory Affairs at EF Solare Italia, participated in the presentation of the report and the drafting work. The work highlighted the need for a more comprehensive and consistent regulatory framework than the present one.
“As a primary operator in the photovoltaic sector, with over 1 GW of installed power between Italy and Spain, we are actively involved in the transition to a market model based on renewables. The system is set to become increasingly complex and requires a transition from the old to the new that cannot afford mistakes. It is crucial to finalize the regulatory framework quickly so that investment processes can be made safer and faster. A change of pace of the electricity grid, a critical strategic factor for plant development, is also needed. Finally, another important challenge is to increase the flexibility of the system to guarantee, also through storage mechanisms, efficient management of overgeneration,’ commented Mariuccia Barresi, Head of Regulatory Affairs at EF Solare Italia.