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
| 05 Mar 25 |
Italy: Saipem and Divento sign collaboration agreement for floating wind in Italy Saipem and Divento, a partnership between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, GreenIT, a joint venture between Plenitude (a Company controlled by Eni) and CDP Equity (CDP Group), 7 Seas Wind Power and NiceTechnology, have signed a collaboration agreement involving the application of STAR 1, Saipem's proprietary technology for floating wind, in favour of the 7 Seas Med projects in Sicily and Ichnusa Wind Power in Sardinia. |
| 05 Mar 25 |
Italy: Plenitude and Infrastrutture S.p.A. announce the start of production of a 37 MW agri-voltaic plant in Montalto di Castro Plenitude and Infrastrutture S.p.A., through the joint venture Hergo Renewables, have completed the construction of a new 37 MW agri-voltaic plant in the municipality of Montalto di Castro (Viterbo), Lazio. |
| 26 Feb 25 |
Italy: Magnora Italy preparing for first MACSE auctions in 2025 Magnora, a renewable-energy group developing wind, solar and battery storage projects, reports that its Italian operations secured land with grid indications in areas well positioned for this year's BESS auctions. The ability to partner with energy companies or infrastructure funds ahead of auctions could provide early cash flow for Magnora Italy. |
| 24 Feb 25 |
Italy: RWE commissions its first solar plant in Italy RWE has commissioned its first solar plant in Italy. The 8.3 megawatt (MWac) Bosco groundmounted solar plant consists of around 15,000 bifacial modules. The photovoltaic plant is located on a 16 hectare site in the municipality of Partinico near Palermo, Sicily, and will supply up to 7,000 Italian households with green electricity. |
| 13 Feb 25 |
Italy: RWE starts construction of its first commercial Agri-PV projects in Italy RWE has started the construction of its first commercial scale Agri-PV plants. The 9.8 megawatt (MWac) Morcone and 9.3 MWac Acquafredda advanced Agri-PV projects are located in the province of Benevento in the Campania region. More than 32,500 solar modules will be installed in total. |
Italy - more news
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