10 - Energy

Top  Increasing pressure on the planet

Everything we do every day is closely tied to the use of energy. Even just turning on a light means consuming the electric energy required to make the light work. The same is true for dozens of other small things we do every day often automatically without considering what is behind the process of producing energy and the consequent consumption. All of this has an enormous impact on Earth's entire ecosystem, which is not instantly perceivable. Only the information provided nearly daily by mass media draws our attention to the possibly catastrophic consequences of the continuous increase in energy consumption.
Today the Earth is under stress: the more and more frequent climactic anomalies, e.g. those that characterized this past winter, the increase in average atmospheric and water temperatures, the melting icecaps, desertification, etc., can be seen as the Earth's response to the excessive exploitation of its resources.
From a global point of view, this pressure on the planet is mainly caused by three factors: population, quantity of resources used and the resulting pollution. According to the United Nation's population division's most recent study, the world population keeps on growing: by 2006 it had reached 6.7 billion, almost seven times what it was in 1830, and it is expected to reach 9 billion 200 million by 2050. Many of these people live in cities, currently an estimated one in three, and by 2025 it might be two out of every three people.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 20 of the 92 chemical elements present in nature were used, whereas in the twenty-first century we are now able to use all 92, just as we use 60 times more metal today than we did a century ago and 40 times the amount of paper. The consumption of potable water has increased three-fold compared to 1950, which has led to a lowering of the ground water table because water is extracted faster than the time needed for the reservoirs to fill up again.
In addition to causing a reduction in natural resources, greater consumption also leads to an increase in the emissions of polluting substances into the atmosphere, especially the so-called greenhouse gases. The challenge for the future is, therefore, the following: to produce wealth by reducing energy consumption and pollution levels, that is, to reach the goal of sustainable development. The main sources of energy currently used are fossil fuels (carbon and petrol) and gas. Unfortunately, in all three cases, these are non-renewable sources of energy, the processing of which generates pollution. Therefore, the problems related to their use deal with supply, costs and environmental impact.

Top  Depletion of 'black gold'

The production of petrol, which is still one of the most significant energy sources in the world today, is destined to decrease within a few decades since the speed at which it is being extracted is faster than the time needed for it to regenerate; at the same time the demand for petrol is ever-increasing. In addition to considering the consumption of industrialized nations, emerging economies such as China and South-East Asia must be considered as well, as they are in rapid growth and therefore destined, in the near future, to have a significant influence on the exploitation of natural resources. (Table 10.1)
We suffer, therefore, the serious consequences of this critical situation: the high cost of petrol worries not only us but above all the monetary authorities given the potential repercussions this can have on inflation, the cost of financial activities and exchange rates. Furthermore, the news the international mass media provide regarding oscillations in the price of petrol feed expectations that influence markets in the short-term even regardless of actual economic principles. After having reached peaks of more than 74 dollars a barrel in 2006, the price of petrol decreased, but the situation remains unstable for a series of reasons. (Table 10.2) There are even more subtle reasons why the price of petrol is kept high in the short term, e.g. the bottleneck in the refining process. The demand, especially in the United States, seems more and more geared towards 'cleaner' fuels that require high quality standards. A lack of clean fuel directly influences the price of other fuels and not only the price of the barrel, but in the end this leads to an increase in the price of crude oil as well.

Top  The cost of fuel

In Italy the cost of fuel at the pump, taxes included, was, in 2006, among the highest in the EU, second only to Malta regarding diesel oil. The level of taxation in Italy is very high and places the country in the top half of the European ranking of the impact of taxes on the retail price of fuel (10th and 6th place for unleaded and diesel oil respectively). (Figure 10.1)
In spite of increases in the cost of fuel, especially diesel oil, energy consumption in the transport sector, the sector that takes up the most crude oil, is in continuous growth. The most recent data available regarding consumption refers to 2004 and shows a 1.9% increase compared to the previous year on a EU25 level. Italy is in line with this trend with a recorded increase of +2% in energy consumption in this sector. (Figure 10.2)

Top  Natural gas

The greatest problem regarding natural gas, which is of primary importance above all for domestic heating (in 2004 it made up 38.7% of the total consumption in the sector on the EU25 level and 57% in Italy) is again the need to ensure a constant, stable supply. The main natural gas producing countries from which it is imported are Russia and Libya. (Figure 10.3) The crisis between Moscow and Kiev, which repeated itself again this past winter, should be interpreted as the warning of a critical situation. The socio-political situation in these countries is often unstable and this certainly means limited reliability as far as gas supply is concerned. Countries like Italy which mostly import fuels and are, therefore, highly dependent on producers, live in a precarious situation that can only be overcome by investing in alternatives that progressively lead toward greater autonomy.

Top  The vulnerability of Europe

The growing dependence on petroleum and other fossil fuels and the increase in the cost of energy overall make Europe more and more vulnerable.
Within the EU the situation is rather heterogeneous among the various member states regarding both supply capabilities and the respective fiscal policies.
In this context Italy is in a particularly critical situation: most of the fossil fuels and gas needed to produce energy are imported. (Figure 10.4)

Energy dependence

In 2004 the total production of energy in the EU25 was equal to 882 million toe (Note 1), and almost 910 million toe were imported to deal with the internal demand, more than 50% of the entire gross inland consumption (Note 2), showing a strong dependence on energy-producing countries.
25% of European production comes from the United Kingdom and among all the member states, only France and Germany went over 100 million toe. Italy, however, only produced 30 million toe showing (Figure 10.5) a particularly critical situation since the balance of imports and exports (Note 3) was 156 million toe, equal to 85.7% of the gross inland consumption (Note 4).
The energy dependence rate (Note 5) varies among member states from the almost null value of the United Kingdom and Poland, both of which have significant natural resources, to more than 80% in Portugal, Ireland, Cyprus, Luxemburg and Malta. In this ranking, Italy is fifth among the countries that are most dependent on foreign states for the supply of raw materials for energy production with a dependence index of 84.1%.
Veneto follows the national trend with a particularly onerous energy demand. While primary production was 774,000 toe, the balance between imports and exports, net of electric energy, was 16.5 million toe, i.e. 96% of the gross regional consumption. This value is significantly higher than the corresponding Italian percentage. (Figure 10.6)

Level of consumption

The 2004 picture showed heterogeneous situations among European Union countries. Luxemburg was the country with the highest level of consumption per capita with more than 10 toe per capita followed by Finland and Sweden where in addition to significant economic development there is a much colder climate than in the other states, a factor which certainly imposes greater consumption even if just for domestic heating. Italy was the eighth country with the lowest gross inland consumption per capita. (Figure 10.7)
The trend of the gross inland consumption per capita in the decade 1994:2004 showed a slight tendential increase in the EU25 countries, from 3.5 toe per capita on average in 1994 to 3.8 in 2004. The same trend can be observed in Italy even if the index has consistently maintained lower levels than the European average (2.7 toe per capita in 1994 and 3.1 in 2004). Throughout the decade, Veneto showed an up and down trend, though the level of consumption per capita was consistently higher than the national average. Similarly, regional levels of consumption were higher than the European average until 2002, whereas in 2003 and 2004, the average per capita having reached 3.6 toe, the per capita consumption in Veneto went below the European average. (Figure 10.8)

Consumption in the regions

Within national borders, when Veneto is compared with other regions in central-northern Italy, the consumption levels per capita, including electric energy and stocks not considered in the Eurostat classification, are still above the national averages. In 2003, the most recent data available for regional comparison, Emilia Romagna proved to be the region with the highest levels of energy consumption per capita with 4.4 toe per capita, followed by Lombardia and Piemonte, both having 4 toe per capita. The situation in Veneto is slightly better with an energy consumption of 3.9 toe per capita. Toscana has the lowest levels with 3.3 toe per capita, a value corresponding to the national average. (Figure 10.9)

Top  Energy efficiency

The picture that has been painted so far is one of territories poor in raw materials which nonetheless have significant economic development making them large consumers of energy that depend on countries producing traditional sources of energy such as petrol and natural gas, which are still used in most cases. But, if on the one hand there are high levels of energy consumption, what are the capabilities needed to exploit them in a sustainable way in order to produce wealth?
During the decade from 1994 to 2004, in the European Union there has been a progressive reduction in energy intensity and, therefore, improvement in energy efficiency. It is worth considering that the starting point was rather critical (more than 231 toe per million of Euro of the gross national product) and there are still today member states whose performance is still lacking (Estonia and Lithuania have values that are more than 5 times higher than the European average).
Within this context, in spite of the problems related to the supply of resources, Italy has good capabilities for transforming them into wealth. For example, in 1994 the energy intensity was slightly greater than 183 toe per million Euro of the GDP, a value which is much lower than the European average. In 2004, Italy was sixth in the ranking of energy intensity with one of the lowest values among member states (185.5 toe per million Euro of GDP), preceded only by France, Germany, Ireland, Austria and Denmark. (Figure 10.10)
The value in Veneto in 1994 was even better as it was 181.4 toe per million Euro, but within the timeframe considered both in Italy and Veneto, contrary to what took place on a European level, there was a progressive worsening of the energy intensity index of the economy, even if it was consistently lower than the EU average. This increase trend was more evident in Veneto as in 2004, with 191 toe per million Euro, the region surpassed the national average level. (Figure 10.11)

Comparison of efficiency in the regions

An analysis of the data on the final energy intensity of the GDP (Note 6) of several regions in central-northern Italy that we usually compare with Veneto shows that there is a heterogeneous situation. In 2003 Emilia Romagna had values that were well above the national average (more than 150 toe per million Euro compared to 126.4 in Italy) whereas Piemonte managed to limit the value of this indicator to 112 toe per million Euro. Veneto had values over the national average which indicates that more attention must be paid to limiting consumption and firm actions taken to improve energy efficiency in the various industries. (Figure 10.12)

Top  Which energy sources are used?

The main sources of energy used for consumption vary from country to country. On the EU25 level, in 2004 petrol products were still used for over 37% of the gross inland consumption of energy sources and solid fuels almost 18% whereas renewable sources of energy did not make up more than 6.3% of the total. One important fact is that the supply of nuclear energy (14.6%), a predominant source in France (more than 41% of the total), was completely absent in Italy, which showed much greater dependence on petrol and its derivatives (46.5%) and imported gas fuels (36.4%). Renewable sources of energy in Italy reached 7.7%, a value which is higher than both the European average as well as the corresponding values for Germany, Spain and France. This is most likely due to the absence of nuclear power plants in Italy and, at the same time, the widespread use of hydroelectric power plants.
The situation in Veneto mirrors the Italian situation as far as the predominance of fossil and gas fuels is concerned. However, there is a greater use of solid fuels rather than renewable sources of energy, which did not reach more than 4.7% of the total and, therefore, was much lower than both the national and European averages. (Figure 10.13)

Top  The situation in Italy

This paragraph focuses on the situation of final energy consumption in Italy (Note 7). Once again, the predominance of petrol and its derivatives is the most striking fact, given that in 2004 these made up 46% of the total final consumption followed by gas fuels (31.8%) and electric energy (19.4%). Renewable sources of energy accounted for no more than 1.3% of final consumption, a value that is much lower than the corresponding value calculated for the gross inland consumption (see previous paragraph), as, of the 13.5 million toe produced by renewable sources and the 600,000 toe imported, 12.4 million are used to make electricity and, therefore, only 1.7 million make up all final consumption in the various sectors.
On a regional level, according to the most recent update available for Toscana, Piemonte, Lombardia and Emilia Romagna, in 2003 the situations in these regions were similar to what that described above. This was particularly noteworthy in Veneto and Toscana even if, in both cases, the use of gas fuels was much higher than the national average. In Piemonte, Lombardia and Emilia Romagna, on the other hand, the two main sources of energy were inverted: gas fuels are the greatest source for consumption taking up more than 46% in Emilia Romagna. (Figure 10.14)

Consumption by sector

In 2004, more than 57% of final energy consumption in the EU25 was taken up by industry and transport while the civil sector took up 40%. An analysis of national data shows that this situation is even more evident in Italy, considering that transport and industry take up more than 62% of the total final consumption. The situation in Veneto mirrors the national data even if there is a different distribution between industry and transport: on the national level transport takes up 33% whereas in Veneto only 28.9%, as the influence of industry is significantly higher (34.3% in comparison to 30.7% for the national average).
A comparison with the other Italian regions shows that the situation in Veneto is most similar to those in Lombardia and Emilia Romagna. In Piemonte the quota of energy consumed by industry is higher than that in other regions, reaching 37.2% of the final energy consumption in the region. The civil sector, including domestic use and services, takes up 34.8% of the total consumption in Veneto, a percentage almost equal to that used by industry; in Lombardia, the civil sector is the most "energy hungry" one taking up 38.5% of the regional consumption.
Agriculture and fishing play a more minor role. The average influence of this sector on final energy consumption was, in 2004, 2.5% on a national level. In Veneto, the percentage was 2.1% whereas among the regions taken into consideration, the peak was reached by Emilia Romagna with 3.3%. (Figure 10.15)

Top  Electric energy

From the data on the production of electric energy within the European Union the trend appears to be a constant increase that led to a peak of 3.2 million GWh in 2004, which is more than 24% more than 10 years before. The two countries that made the most significant contribution to the production of electric energy were Germany and France with 10% and 18%, respectively, of the European total. Italy contributed 303.671 GWh, or 9.6% of the total, and, therefore, much less than the two leaders.
Regarding how electric energy is produced, thermoelectric power plants are still the main system used: 54.2% of the EU total in 2004. The situations change from country to country reaching peaks of 80% in Italy down to 9% in France where the main source of electric energy production is nuclear power plants (more than 78%).
In Italy in 2004 the gross production of electric energy from renewable sources made up 20.7 of the total, which is a value that is significantly higher than the European average (14.8%) thanks to the widespread use in the region of hydroelectric power plants which alone make up almost 17% of the total amount of energy produced. With more than 5,400 GWh generated by geothermic sources in Toscana, in 2004 Italy supplied more than 98% of the electric energy produced from this source within the European Union. (Table 10.3)
As is the case in the rest of the country, in Veneto the main source of electric energy is thermoelectric power plants. In 2004, with 18,707 GWh, equal to 86.1% of the total, Veneto was second only to Emilia Romagna (more than 95%) within the group of Italian regions compared and, nonetheless, above the Italian average. In the thermoelectric power plants the main source of energy is natural gas, which continues to be exploited more and more. (Figure 10.16) and (Figure 10.17)

Top  Consumption of electric energy

As far as the end consumption of electric energy is concerned, in the period 1997-2004, there has been a constant increase in consumption all over the European Union reaching highs of 5.7 GWh per 1,000 inhabitants in 2004 compared to 5.1 in 1997. The same trend can be observed in all of the main competitor countries for Italy, which has always maintained levels below the European average. In 2004 Italy had an average of 5GWh per 1,000 inhabitants, a value which is low compared to France and Germany as well as Spain, which started with a situation that was slightly better at the beginning of the time period considered. Veneto, as is the case for all of the other central-northern regions considered, showed the same trend even if with values that are significantly higher than the national averages. In 2004 Veneto reached 6.3 GWh per 1,000 inhabitants. This value places the region with Emilia Romagna halfway between Toscana and Piemonte on the one hand (5.8 e 6.1 GWh per 1,000 inhabitants respectively) and Lombardia on the other hand (6.8 GWh). (Figure 10.18) and (Figure 10.19)

Top  Strategies implemented

The European Commission has defined common objectives for implementing energy policies aimed at improving the current situation. These objectives are based on three concepts: sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply. As a result, the Commission published a summary of the policy to be followed called the green book (8 March 2006), which outlines the strategies to be implemented and six areas that are of primary importance: completing the internal energy market, security of supply, energy efficiency, fight against climatic changes, research and development aimed at achieving greater competitiveness in the field of energy on the part of the EU, and a more consistent external energy policy that would allow the EU to strengthen its dialogue with energy producing countries.
The first objective to be reached is to make the internal market truly free by eliminating all of the forms of protectionism and monopolies that still exist within the individual member states of the Union. In the current situation the retail prices consumers pay remain high due to a lack of competition.
A second point, which is closely related to the market, is the issue of supplies. Unfortunately, the dependency on imports leads to very difficult situations that put a constant supply of energy at risk. The EU will have to create control and management systems able to guarantee the constant presence of sufficient energy reserves as well as collaboration between member states in order to overcome crises and emergencies.
The third objective is to improve energy efficiency in member states thanks to a combination of different sources of energy based on valid optimisation criteria for each local situation and defined within the context of a European framework. All of this must take place in the context of a strategic re-examination of Europe's energy policy.
Along with an increase in energy efficiency, the EU is also taking measures to develop a project to separate the increase in consumption from the increase in emissions that is causing global warming. This can happen by studying and using alternative sources of energy that are cleaner than those that are used today.
A fundamental step that must be taken in order to achieve this aim is investing in the research and development of new, more advanced systems for producing energy. In order to promote this, the European Commission is developing a strategic plan for energy technologies.
Finally, it is worth highlighting the importance of strengthening Europe's dialogue with energy producing countries in order to attain greater security of supply. This point was recently brought up again in the European Parliament. Europe is currently too vulnerable with respect to countries that produce the raw materials for energy production because it does not have an unequivocal "voice", but rather many fragmentary "voices" corresponding to each individual situation.

Top  The potential of renewable sources of energy

Two of the primary objectives of the regional administration of Veneto are the rational use of energy and the promotion of renewable energy sources, more so now that responsibility for this matter has been decentralised. Some examples of efforts to develop autonomous capabilities to produce energy within regional borders are: efforts to increase the use of hydroelectric energy by putting small hydroelectric power plants back into service or building new ones; efforts to promote a more widespread use of solar photovoltaic panels; the, though limited, contribution that can come from wind power plants by mapping the potential of wind power in the region, based on a number of studies which recognize that some valleys are predisposed to this, due to the fact that they face North-South with wind constantly blowing through them (Figure 10.20); and, finally, the promotion of crops for energy use. (Figure 10.21)
Very positive initial results were achieved using 2000-2006 community funds: power plants that use wood biomass have been built and some crops in Veneto are already being converted in order to produce bio-fuels, as can be seen by the fact that in 2006 the amount of land dedicated to growing sunflowers increased by 26% compared to the previous year and production increased by 31%. Besides, there is no denying that environmental problems and climatic changes are inherently connected to the primary sector: above all crops are subject to the variability of the frequency of extreme climatic phenomena and the consequences of reduced water resources and increases in average temperatures can already be felt. Furthermore, this sector, which exploits the soil and uses chemical products to improve production, is inevitably involved in the production and emission of pollutants.
Attempts to tackle environmental problems do not, however, aim solely at reducing the impact of pollution but, and above all, they must aim to produce renewable energy sources that can help fight the production of pollution.
Therefore, the agricultural sector is very much interested in producing energy: investments in crops for energy use would allow commercial farms to integrate and diversify their income from crops and at the same time produce positive environmental and social consequences. The energy market is enormous if it is considered together with the potential of agriculture. Therefore, there should theoretically be no problem finding farmers willing to grow these products. For example, the "wood energy" production chain in Italy produces an estimated more than 15-20 million tonnes and today this type of biomass contributes to merely 2% of the country's energy needs, with margins for growth. Another opportunity comes from the exploitation of the natural gas produced from the anaerobic fermentation of animal waste, vegetable biomass and waste from agricultural and food industries. The resulting biogas is used as fuel to produce electric energy and heat or for traction once it has been purified.
Other interesting opportunities in this field are thermal and photovoltaic solar power as are, in the right locations, small and medium-sized wind turbines to be installed in commercial farms.
Which system offers the greatest advantages? There is no set rule because the choice can only be made on a local level by considering the specific characteristics and available resources. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the make-up of the land associated with the situation of agriculture in Veneto offers a wide range of possibilities for development in the agricultural sector.

Top  The European objective

On a normative level, the European Directive 2001/77/EC regarding the promotion of renewable sources of energy has set Italy the objective that, by 2010, 25% of gross inland consumption of electricity should be produced by electric energy from renewable sources. In the Annex to this Directive, Italy subsequently indicated that a lower percentage, about 22%, would be a more realistic objective (this percentage was calculated on the basis of an internal gross production from renewable sources equal to 76 TWh/yr and the hypothesis that the gross inland consumption of electric energy in 2010 will be 340 TWh).
A comparison of the situation in the UE25 in 2005 with that of 1997 shows that there has been a slight overall improvement: the gross production of electric energy from renewable sources has increased from 12.8% to 13.6% of the gross inland consumption. However, this increase is not enough seeing that the objective established is to reach 21% by 2010 and this goal currently seems far away. Furthermore, the situation becomes more complicated if the situations in the individual member states are considered. On the one hand, for example, in 1997 Germany produced 4.3% of national electric energy needs from renewable sources of energy and was able to increase this percentage to 10.5%, almost reaching the national goal of 12.5%. On the other hand, in Spain, France and Italy the situation has actually become worse. In 2005, Italy did not achieve more than 14.1% indicating a decrease, since in 2004 it had achieved 16%. This situation can in part be accounted for by a decrease in hydroelectric power production, which is a significant part of the renewable sources in Italy, caused both by climatic changes and greater consumption of water in other sectors.
Veneto is significantly below the objectives established on a European level: in 2005 the relationship between gross production and gross inland consumption of electric energy was 10.4%, a drop from 2004 (12.4%) and lower than both national and European averages. A comparison with other Italian regions shows the difficulty Veneto has had: it performed better only than Emilia Romagna where the last recorded value (2005) was 5.7%. It is worth pointing out that Toscana, thanks to the already-mentioned geothermic resources present in the subsurface, has not only already reached the goal of 22% of the total amount of electric energy produced from renewable sources but has surpassed it, achieving 26.5% in 2006. (Figure 10.22) and (Figure 10.23)




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Notes

  1. Tonne of oil equivalent
  2. Gross inland consumption is a measure of the energy inputs to the economy, calculated by adding total domestic energy production plus energy imports minus energy exports, plus net withdrawals from existing stocks. (...)
  3. Data from Enea. The values of energy imports and exports are calculated net of electric energy imports and exports in order to make the data comparable with Eurostat data.
  4. Calculated starting from Enea data, which uses a different definition than Eurostat data inasmuch as it also includes stocks which were, therefore, subtracted.
  5. The energy dependence rate is the relationship between the import/export of energy balance and gross consumption defined by Eurostat as the sum of primary production, balance between imports and exports, and variations in stocks.
  6. This indicator is calculated based on end consumption of energy, not on gross inland consumption as was previously the case for international comparisons, since this data was not available.
  7. The analysis of Italian regions is carried out considering end consumption rather than gross inland consumption, since this data was not available.


Table 10.1
Petrol consumption per geographical area (millions of toe*). Years 2003:2004
Table 10.2
Cost of petrol/barrel ($/barrel). Years 2006:2007
Figure 10.1
Cost of unleaded gas and diesel oil before and after taxes (€ per 1.000 litres) and impact of taxes on the retail price (percentages). EU countries - Year 2006
Figure 10.2
Price of fuels (€ per 1.000 litres) and energy consumption (thousands of toe) in the transport sector. Italy - Year 2000:2004
Figure 10.3
Supply of natural gas to Italy
Figure 10.4
Imports of primary sources of energy (percentages) to the EU25 per country of origin. Year 2004
Figure 10.5
Total production of primary energy (millions of toe). Italy*, EU25 countries - Year 2004
Figure 10.6
Energy dependence rate (import/export balance in relation to gross consumption* - percentages). Italy**, EU25 countries - Year 2004
Figure 10.7
Gross inland consumption of energy per capita (toe per capita). Veneto*, Italy*, EU25 countries - Year 2004
Figure 10.8
Gross inland consumption of energy per capita (toe per capita). Veneto*, Italy*, EU25 countries - Years 1994:2004
Figure 10.9
inland consumption of energy per capita per region (toe per capita). - Year 2003
Figure 10.10
Energy intensity of the GDP (gross inland consumption*/GDP - Toe/million € prices in 1995). Italy**, EU25 countries - Year 2004
Figure 10.11
Energy intensity of the GDP (gross inland consumption*/GDP - Toe/million € prices in 1995). Veneto**, Italy**, EU25 countries - Years 1994:2004
Figure 10.12
Final energy intensity of the GDP (end consumption/GDP - Toe/million € prices in 1995) - Year 2003
Figure 10.13
Gross inland consumption per source (percentages). Veneto, Italy, EU25 countries - Year 2004
Figure 10.14
Final consumption per source (percentages) - Year 2003*
Figure 10.15
Energy consumption per sector (percentages). Veneto, Italy, EU25 countries - Year 2004
Table 10.3
Gross production of electric energy per source (GWh). Italy, EU25 countries - Year 2004
Figure 10.16
Gross production of electric energy per source (percentages). Italy, EU25 countries - Years 1997:2004
Figure 10.17
Gross production of electric energy per source (GWh) - Years 1997:2005
Figure 10.18
Final consumption of electric energy per 1,000 inhabitants (GWh per 1000 inhabitants). Italy, EU25 countries - Years 1997:2004
Figure 10.19
Final consumption of electric energy per 1000 inhabitants (GWh per 1.000 inhabitants) - Years 1997:2005
Figure 10.20
Wind speed and solar radiation in Italian regions
Figure 10.21
Energy potential from agricultural waste (GWh) and their minimum calorific power (millions of MJ) in Italy
Figure 10.22
Production of electric energy from renewable sources of energy compared to the gross inland consumption (percentages). Italy, EU25 countries
Figure 10.23
Production of electric energy from renewable sources of energy compared to the gross inland consumption (percentages).  Veneto, Piemonte, Lombardia, Emilia Romagna and Toscana - Years 2004:2005
Chapter 10 in figures
Chapter 10 in figures

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