The challenges we face

The energy shock and the acceleration of transition targets

The year 2022 will be remembered as the year of the global energy crisis, with advanced economies spending as much as 17.7% of their GDP to meet energy needs. The war in Ukraine triggered a review of energy policies in Europe, culminating in the REPowerEU plan adopted by the European Commission to address the turmoil caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

In the plan, several measures were included with the aim of accelerating the transition, among them, the doubling of photovoltaic capacity by 2025, installing 600 GW by 2030, and an increase in the weight of renewables from 40% to 45% by 2030.

+600 GW

of new installed capacity by 2030

45%

share of renewables in the EU by 2030

1,1 trilliards $

invested globally in the energy transition

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The Italian situation: the slowdown of the green transition

In Italy, the energy shock has led to an increase in the use of fossil fuels (+8% oil and +47% coal), hampering the green transition. In addition, there was an 11% decrease in hydropower (-25% from the low of the last 15 years), which was not offset by the overall increase in solar and wind power (+9%). This scenario contributed to a significant deterioration of the Ispred transition index calculated by ENEA: -60% in the third quarter. To meet the targets of the FitFor55 plan, further increased by the RepowerEU, and reach 45% renewables by 2030, current installations need to be more than doubled.

-6%

emissions per year to meet FitFor55 targets

+10% GW

per year of renewables to meet REPowerEU plan

72%

renewables in electricity generation by 2030 according to the PTE (the Italian Plan for the Ecological Transition)

Drought and hydropower

In 2022 Europe faced its worst rainfall shortage in 500 years; the European Drought Observatory report states that 47% of the continent was in an alert condition, with a clear deficit of soil moisture.

In this scenario, hydropower production in 2022, at its lowest level since 2000, was 66 TWh lower than in 2021 (-37.7%). The CVA Group, with a reduction of 28%, was able to partly contain the production impact despite the Alpine region being the hardest hit by drought and lack of snowfall (-80%).

-66 TWh

compared to 2021 hydroelectric production

-37,7%

hydroelectric generation in Italy

-28%

CVA hydroelectric generation

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CVA and the projects for the Aosta Valley

The Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley is responding to climate challenges with a decarbonisation strategy to 2040 that is thus ten years ahead of the targets set by the European Union. In the road map already drawn up, the 2030 Regional Environmental Energy Plan (PEAR), currently being formulated, will play a central role. In this scenario, the Group, with its CVA 2022 project, is actively collaborating with the region to monitor cutting-edge technologies. CVA’s contribution to the decarbonisation of the Aosta Valley thus spans different areas: from the development of production from RES, to the research of new renewable sources (such as green hydrogen), to the development of electric mobility and energy communities, to its position as general contractor for energy efficiency in buildings (Ecobonus).

Long waits for permits and concessions

Bureaucracy hinders the development of renewable energy: permitting times in the various member states often exceed the limits set by the EU. In Italy, the photovoltaic sector is particularly affected, with the process taking an average of seven years.

Currently, there are 40 GW of halted solar plant projects awaiting approval. For its part, Hydropower has a concession problem: 86% have already expired or will expire by 2029. It is therefore a priority to address the criticalities of the current Italian regulatory landscape and to unlock investment.

years average permitting time in Italy

40 GW

of solar halted by red tape

20%

of hydroelectric concessions already expired

86%

of concessions set to expire by 2029