«In the South, there are interesting incentives (Bonus Sud, Industry 4.0, R&D Tax Credit, grants) that could greatly support development in entrepreneurship, both Green and otherwise. The problem is that too often our entrepreneurs find themselves having to argue with state officials who question various tax bonuses due to a lack of understanding of the regulations. Regarding R&D, we have often faced aggressive challenges to credits from the Revenue Agency, as seen in one of many rulings (C.T.P. VICENZA, RULING N. 365/3/2021): ‘There is an abuse of power by the Office, given that it is not competent, from a technical standpoint, to assess the value of the activities carried out to improve the company’s production processes.’ This is why, despite the necessary measures for development, entrepreneurs often choose not to proceed due to a lack of confidence in our system’s effectiveness».

This is stated by Veronica Pitea, President of ACEPER (Association of Consumers and Producers of Renewable Energies), the association that represents 10,000 renewable energy production plants, equivalent to over 7,000 members, with a total installed capacity exceeding 2 GWp.

Organized crime, which has recently seen the renewable sector as a lucrative opportunity, could tarnish the image of the entire ‘healthy’ renewable sector. However, President Pitea has confidence in the authorities: ‘We have had stories in the past, like that of the “wind king” Vito Nicastri… I would not want us to hide behind a finger; we know well that there are similar situations in various sectors. That is why law enforcement works to ensure, as in the case of Messina Denaro, that such “entrepreneurs” are identified and punished by the law.’

To overcome the current energy crisis, ACEPER’s President sees no other solution than renewables: ‘To address the crisis, we see no other possibilities. In this regard, the government must absolutely reduce bureaucracy, have more technical tables with market players, and decrease regulatory instability. Over the years, one thing that has frightened both foreign and Italian entrepreneurs is something we only have in Italy, called “retroactivity,” which is the superpower of our laws/decrees to be modified after years with retroactive effects, and we have had several situations of this kind in the renewable sector.

For example, the incentive adjustment, the Save Italy decree, the Tremonti Environment, and others. So far, the Meloni government has introduced regulations that seem interesting, but without the implementing decrees, we do not know if they will actually turn into opportunities. We are still very cumbersome, and unfortunately, for example, with regard to grants that could benefit the sector, bureaucracy prevails over Green,’ concludes ACEPER’s President.