The Covid-19 pandemic had an unprecedent global impact on the energy sector.
Since the beginning of the epidemiological emergency, there has been a drastic reduction in energy demand.
During the first quarter of 2020, it is estimated that the global energy demand has fallen by 3.8 % compared to the same period in 2019. Among the energy sources, the fossil fuels have suffered the most because of the restrictive measures (carbon -8%, oil -5% and gas -2%), while, in the same period, there was a slight - but significant - increase in global consumption of renewable energy (+1.5%).
In Italy, the energy sector trend reflects the global one. The emergency measures adopted by the Italian government to tackle the epidemiological crisis had a significant impact on national energy demand. More precisely, the interruption of commercial and industrial activities and the restrictions in the transport sector have inevitably led to a decrease in energy demand.
According to Terna's latest findings (dated April 2020), during the first four months of 2020, the demand of electricity supply decreased by 7.4% compared to the same period in 2019.
Renewables have been the only energy sources that showed an upward trend during the pandemic.
The analysis of the energy mix fed into the national grid during the first four months of 2020 shows that the energy production from non-renewable sources met 51% of the national energy requirements, with a decrease of -15.7% compared to 2019. On the contrary, with reference again to the first four months of 2020, the energy production from renewable sources satisfied a quota equal to 36% of energy requirements, with an increase by 2,3% compared to the previous year.
This growth was driven by the solar energy production that, in April 2020, saw an increase by 26.9% compared to the same period of 2019. Hydroelectric and geothermal energy production also increased, while the wind energy production decreased by 14,3%.
In the light of the above, it seems that, in a such difficult context, renewables proved to be the most resilient energy sources.
Below, two reasons that may explain this trend:
- According to the TICA (“Testo Integrato delle Connesisoni Attive”), the renewable energy plants take priority over plants fuelled by traditional energy sources as regards the connection to the electricity grid. In addition, with reference to the dispatching phase, the renewable energy has a right of priority over other energy sales offers with the same price;
- The commissioning of a substantial number of renewable energy plants during 2019.
However, also the renewables sector has suffered the effects of the pandemic.
During the lockdown, the suspension of the industrial activities and the logistical delays in the supply chain strongly slowed down the building and the commissioning of new renewable energy plants.
In order to contain a possible contraction of energy production, the Italian government included in the recent emergency Decree no. 34 of 19 May 2020 (“Decreto Rilancio”)a number of incentive measures, mostly tax-related, aimed at promoting the energy efficiency of buildings and electric vehicles.
Among the most important measures, Article 119 of the above-mentioned decree provides for a deduction equal to 110% (the so-called "superbonus") of the expenses, duly documented, incurred in the period between July 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 for:
- works of energy upgrading and earthquake-proofing of the buildings, provided that these works ensure the improvement by two energy classes of the relevant building or, if this is not possible, the achievement of the highest energy class;
- the installation on buildings of PV panels connected to the electricity grid, up to a total amount of expenses not exceeding Euro 48,000. In such a case, the superbonus is not cumulative with other public incentives or any kind of deduction provided by local, national and European laws.
With regard to the plants that applied to the register and auction procedures provided for under the so called FER 1 Decree, dated 4 July 2019, (regulating the incentives applicable to the production of renewable energy, the GSE, the state-owned company that promotes RES in Italy, recently published on its website the list of deadlines that have been extended/postponed by the same GSE due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
So far, the extension/deferrals concerned only the administrative procedures relating to the first register and auction round whose application process ended on 30 October 2019.
Among others, the most significant measures adopted by the GSE are:
- the extension of 6 months of the deadline for the commissioning of the energy plants admitted to the incentives;
- the extension of the deadline for the request to access to the incentives. This request must be submitted to the GSE within 30 (thirty) days from the date of commissioning of the relevant renewable energy plant. According to the GSE extension scheme, if the deadline for the request of the incentives falls within the period from 23 February to 15 April 2020, the period of 30 (thirty) days shall start from 16 April 2020;
- with respect to the projects admitted to the incentives, the postponement to the date of 18 June 2020 of the deadline – originally set at 27 April 2020 – for the submission to the GSE of the final guarantees (i.e. the guarantee to be delivered by the company admitted to the incentives in order to secure the completion of RES project).
The results of the second register/auction round have not been published yet and, as of today, no specific deferrals/delays are foreseen.
