Italy's total electricity consumption was 302.75 terawatt-hour (TWh) in 2020, of which 270.55 TWh (89.3%) was produced domestically and the remaining 10.7% was imported.
Italy has a high share of electricity in the total final energy consumption. The share of primary energy dedicated to electricity production is above 35%, and grew steadily since the 1970s.
In 2020, 38.1% of the national electric energy consumption came from renewable sources (in 2008 this value was 16.6%), covering 20.4% of the total energy consumption of the country (7.5% in 2005). Solar energy production alone accounted for almost 8.1% of the total electric production in the country in 2019. Wind power, hydroelectricity, and geothermal power are also important sources of electricity in the country.
Italy abandoned nuclear power following the 1987 referendum in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, and nuclear power in Italy has never been greater than a few percent of total power generation.
Overview
In 2018, gross electricity production in Italy reached 289.7 TWh, down 2.1% compared to 2017; thermal power stations ensured 66.5% of production and renewable energies 33.5%: hydraulic 17.4%, solar 7.8%, wind 6.1% and geothermal 2.1% (note: this statistic includes biomass and waste in the thermal). Net production was 279.8 TWh, including 2.3 TWh for pumping.
The Great Recession at the end of 2008 reduced demand for electricity by 5.7% in 2009. The strong growth of renewable energies (+47% since 2010) has made it possible to reduce fossil fuel-based production by 27% between 2010 and 2020; the drop in demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 is however partly responsible for this decline in fossil fuels.
Generating capacity in 2019 and production in 2020 was:
In 2008 Italy consumed electricity in 6,054 kWh per capita, while the EU15 average was slightly higher 7,409 kWh per capita. In 2009 consumption was divided by power source: 13.5% import, 65.8% fossil electricity and 20.7% renewable electricity.
Power sources
For a detailed picture of the sources of electric power in Italy (including decommission nuclear plants and renewable energy projects), see the list of power stations in Italy.
Fossil fuels
Fossil fuel thermal power plants provide the majority of electricity production in Italy, with a total of 192.1 TWh in 2018, or 66.3% of the electricity produced in the country. During the decade 1997-2007, natural gas power plants experienced strong growth, rising from 24 to 55% of total electricity production; since 2009 they have fallen sharply, falling to 33.5% in 2014, but still representing 53.4% of thermal generation; from 2015 to 2017, they resumed their progression: +35% in two years, rising to 48.4% of total electricity production and 67.2% of thermal production in 2017 (66.9% in 2018); the rest of this production is provided by coal (14.8%; down 42% from its peak in 2012 after experiencing a 24% rebound in 2011-12, as in the whole of Europe due to the drop in coal prices caused by the shale gas boom in the United States), gases derived from processes (1.3%), petroleum products (1.7%), other fuels (mainly biomass, as well as tar, refinery gas, recovered heat, etc.) representing 15.3%.
Combined cycle (gas) units numbered 174 and totaled a power of 40,242 MW (including 58 purely electric units: 22,300 MW and 116 cogeneration units: 17,942 MW), and gas turbines 130 units ( 3,073MW); steam (coal) condensing units were 104 (12,637 MW).
The fuels consumed for the production of electricity in 2018 were:
10,633 kt of coal and lignite; 23,592 million m3 of natural gas and 4,772 Mm3 of derived gas; 585 kt of petroleum products; 16,718 kt of other solid fuels (biomass, etc.) and 3,496 Mm3 of other gaseous fuels (biogas, etc.). Enel launched a call for projects for 23 old power plants being closed, representing 13,000 MW, out of a total of 54 power plants; the Tor del Sale combined cycle power plant in Piombino, near Livorno in Tuscany, will serve as a pilot site.
In 2017, Enel plans to achieve its goal of zero CO2 emissions, initially set for 2050, 10 years in advance. Enel Green Power installed 2,500 MW of renewable energy plants in 2017. Enel had already closed 13,000 MW of old fossil thermal power plants in 2015.