Because Copasir beats the government on hydroelectricity
Yes to renewables, gas and new generation nuclear power. But beware of hydroelectricity and China. Here are the highlights of the Copasir report on Italian energy security
The Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic (Copasir), chaired by Adolfo Urso (Brothers of Italy), yesterday presented the Report on energy security in the current phase of ecological transition : a document that – as the title suggests – investigates the repercussions on the Italian security of the energy transition, or the process of gradual detachment from fossil fuels in favor of renewable sources with zero greenhouse gas emissions.
DIVERSIFICATION GOAL
"One of the main objectives to be achieved", we read, "is the diversification of energy sources and supply locations to overcome or at least mitigate the state of dependence on other countries": today Italy is particularly dependent on Russia for supplies of natural gas.
“In this sense”, the report continues, “the range of energy resources must be carefully evaluated in order to have a well-defined framework of opportunities and weaknesses. Renewable energies undoubtedly represent a strong point of our system and already guarantee a significant share of the energy mix. However, it is necessary to carefully consider the costs to be incurred, the problem of the static nature of the offer which is still influenced by the seasonal phases, the remoteness of the consumption centers from those of production which forces us to 'pursue the source' with evident repercussions also on the need to have adequate and efficient transmission infrastructures ".
POTENTIAL AND PROBLEMS OF HYDROELECTRIC
Copasir focuses in particular on hydroelectricity, defined as “one of the areas in which our country has a significant competitive advantage”.
Hydroelectricity is a renewable energy source, therefore consistent with the ecological transition path. Furthermore, unlike renewables from intermittent production such as wind and solar, hydroelectricity is modular and can guarantee storage levels through pumping, thus improving the stability of the electricity grid.
However, the Committee criticizes the draft law on competition (Competition bill) for having opened tenders for hydroelectric concessions to "foreign operators but in a regime of non-reciprocity since other European countries apply a protectionist regime in this area": one point already underlined with concern by Guido Crosetto (co-founder of Fratelli d'Italia, a party to which the president of Copasir belongs) and by Enrico Borghi of the Democratic Party.
DEPENDENCE ON CHINA?
"The current Italian legislative framework in the hydroelectric sector", states Copasir, "puts at risk the control of strategic assets for the safety of the energy system and for national energy autonomy, allowing participation in new tenders of foreign companies […] With a consequent weakening of the competitive position of the Italian industrial system ”.
In Italy there is in fact a local supply chain associated with this energy; in the case of other renewable sources such as wind and solar, on the other hand, the supply chain is dominated by China : it is clearly the first producer of panels and turbines, in addition to controlling the supplies of basic materials (metals such as rare earths , eg).
THE NUCLEAR
Copasir also talks about the potential of nuclear energy and the most recent technologies, those of the fourth generation: several countries – such as France, the United States and China – are working on the development of modular reactors, smaller and cheaper to build, to be used together with renewable sources to compensate for their intermittent production. Nuclear does not emit greenhouse gases but produces radioactive waste, a problem that the new reactors, however, should reduce.
"In Italy", the report reads, "although there is no energy production through the use of nuclear power plants, research in this sector has not stopped and has made it possible to establish important safeguards in both the scientific and industrial fields. . If, on the one hand, research activities in this area can certainly offer a useful contribution, on the other, every hypothesis of an applicative nature remains linked to evaluations of a political nature ". Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani is in favor of including fourth generation nuclear technologies in the European taxonomy for sustainable investments .
THE ROLE OF GAS
On another energy source there is commonality of views between Minister Cingolani and Copasir: natural gas. The Committee writes that "natural gas seems to represent an indispensable resource in the short to medium term pending the completion of the energy transition". And that, also to encourage the reduction of bills – in the first quarter of 2022 they increased again; that of gas of 41.8 per cent -, “it would be necessary to consider the hypothesis of increasing the extraction of gas from Italian fields, while at the same time reducing purchases from abroad”: mainly from Russia and Algeria.
“It would be a question”, continues the text, “of exploiting more effectively the fields already active, in order to double the national quota from just over four to about nine billion cubic meters per year”.
In this regard, Cingolani raised the possibility of increasing the national production of gas from the fields "already open" and bringing it precisely to 8-9 billion cubic meters, against the current 4.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/copasir-sicurezza-energetica-transizione-ecologica/ on Fri, 14 Jan 2022 09:45:11 +0000.