Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: Italy
| Location: | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
| Climate: | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
| Terrain: | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
| Size: | 301230 sq. km total (Land area: 294020 sq. km Water area: 7210 sq.km) |
| Population: | 58,145,321 (July 2008 est.) |
| Languages: | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
| Government: | republic |
| Capital city: | Rome |
| Legal system: | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Currency: | euro (EUR) |
| Licensing: |
Country profile
With limited domestic energy sources, Italy is highly dependent on imports to meet its consumption needs. In absolute terms, oil consumption has remained relatively static since 1970, but oil's share of Italy’s primary energy mix has decreased significantly, steadily replaced by natural gas. A pressing issue affecting Italy has been the country's electricity supply. Over the past decade, Italy’s installed electricity generation has not been able to keep up with demand, resulting in an increased share of electricity imports as a percent of total consumption.
Oil is the largest source of Italy’s energy consumption, representing 47 percent of primary energy consumption in 2004. Natural gas is the second-largest with 35 percent of primary energy consumption, followed by minor contributions from coal (8 percent), hydroelectricity (5 percent), and other renewables (2 percent). Unlike many other OECD countries, Italy still relies upon oil for a sizable portion of electricity generation: preliminary International Energy Agency (IEA) data for 2005 shows that Italy relied upon oil for 16 percent of its electricity generation, versus 5 percent for the OECD as a whole.
Energy production and consumption
| Oil | Gas | |
| Production: | 164,800 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 11 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Consumption: | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 82 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Exports: | 521,400 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 379 million cu m (2005 est.) |
| Imports: | 2 million bbl/day (2004 est.) | 70 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Reserves: | 621 million bbl/day (2006 est.) | 217 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Major fields: |
Italy - recent news
| 20 Jul 26 |
Italy: Sonnedix bolsters hybrid capabilities in Italy with acquisition of 260MW battery storage portfolio Sonnedix, a global renewable energy company with 11GW of total capacity, has announced the acquisition of a 260MW battery energy storage system (BESS) portfolio in Tuscania, Italy. This deal increases the company's total BESS portfolio to approximately 2.8GW and marks a further step in one of Europe's fastest-growing energy markets. |
| 20 Jul 26 |
Italy: ERG and Statkraft sign an agreement for the supply of over 800 GWh of wind energy in Italy ERG, a leading independent producer of energy from renewable sources, has announced that its subsidiary ERG Power Generation SpA has signed a financial Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Statkraft, the largest renewable energy producer in Europe, with a 'pay as produced' profile for a duration of 7 years, starting from 1 January 2027 |
| 20 Jul 26 |
Italy: Zenith Energy acquires biogas development company Zenith Energy has entered into a binding Letter of Intent and Exclusivity for the acquisition of 100% of the issued share capital of an Italian biogas development company, which owns the rights to develop a fully permitted and engineered biogas production facility in Italy, subject to completion of the proposed acquisition. |
| 17 Jul 26 |
Italy: EnBW and Zelestra partner on major battery storage project - unlocking about 1.2 GWh of flexibility for Italy's power grid Zelestra, a global, multi-technology, customer-focused renewable energy company, has signed a long term tolling agreement with EnBW, one of the largest energy companies in Germany and Europe, for 300 MW 4 hour battery energy storage at Zelestra’s BESS project in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. |
| 15 Jul 26 |
Italy: Zenith Energy signs MoU for sale of 50 MWp for EUR 12 million Zenith Energy has signed an MoU with a renewable energy operator for the sale of a portfolio of solar development projects located in the Piedmont region of Italy, with an aggregate expected installed capacity of approximately 50 MWp, for a total consideration of EUR 12 million. |
Italy - more news
Other countries in this region
- Afghanistan,
- Albania,
- Armenia,
- Austria,
- Azerbaijan,
- Belarus,
- Belgium,
- Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- Bulgaria,
- Croatia,
- Cyprus,
- Czech Republic,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Faroe Islands,
- Finland,
- France,
- Georgia,
- Germany,
- Greece,
- Greenland,
- Hungary,
- Iceland,
- Ireland,
- Kazakhstan,
- Kyrgyzstan,
- Latvia,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Malta,
- Moldova,
- Montenegro,
- Netherlands,
- Norway,
- Poland,
- Portugal,
- Romania,
- Russia,
- Serbia,
- Slovakia,
- Slovenia,
- Spain,
- Sweden,
- Switzerland,
- Tajikistan,
- Tatarstan,
- Turkey,
- Turkmenistan,
- Ukraine,
- United Kingdom,
- Uzbekistan
