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
| 12 Aug 26 |
Italy: European Energy secures EUR 234m financing for 225 MW agri-pv project in Italy Project financing supports the construction of one of Italy’s largest and most advanced agrivoltaic developments, further expanding European Energy’s renewable energy assets’ portfolio in the country. The transaction is among the first financings of an agrivoltaic project of this scale and complexity in Italy. |
| 12 Aug 26 |
Italy: Zenith surpasses 200 MWp solar development target ahead of schedule and increases 2026 target to 240 MWp Zenith Energy has announced the acquisition of a 10 MWp photovoltaic development project located in the Province of Foggia, in the Puglia region of Italy. The acquisition increases Zenith's total solar development pipeline to approx. 203 MWp. Following the achievement of this milestone ahead of schedule, the Company has increased its solar development acquisition target for the end of 2026 to 240 MWp. |
| 11 Aug 26 |
Italy: Encavis strengthens its Italian business with first large-scale battery storage project Encavis is adding a utility-scale battery storage system to its Italian portfolio for the first time. The standalone battery storage facility in Ceprano (Lazio region) will have an installed capacity of around 65 MW and a storage capacity of around 260 MWh. Commissioning is scheduled for 2028. |
| 07 Aug 26 |
Italy: European Energy divests ready-to-build 90 MW solar park in Italy European Energy has completed the divestment of the 90 MW Cerano Energreen solar park in Brindisi, Puglia, Italy – fully permitted and secured under Italy’s FerX Contract for Difference scheme. |
| 05 Aug 26 |
Italy: Axpo and Zelestra join forces for BESS project to strengthen Italy's power system Axpo has signed a long-term tolling agreement with Zelestra, a global, multi-technology renewable energy company, for its planned 207 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project in northern Italy. |
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
