“Draghi and Cingolani, heed our call.” This request comes from Veronica Pitea, president of ACEPER (Association of Consumers and Producers of Renewable Energy), after the companies producing energy from renewable sources within the association announced a three-day shutdown of 10,000 photovoltaic plants, which provide electricity equivalent to the needs of six major cities like Rome, Milan, Naples, Bologna, Bari, and Palermo combined.

“The sharp rise in energy costs, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, threatens to cripple the renewable energy sector in Italy, paradoxically the very sector that should be the ‘engine’ of Italy’s energy transition”, Veronica Pitea explained in a statement. “If the Government does not heed our call, we will be forced to shut down over 10,000 photovoltaic plants across Italy, which produce over 900 GWh of clean electricity from renewable sources, illuminating the equivalent of six major cities like Rome, Milan, Naples, Bologna, Bari, and Palermo combined.”

The request to the Government is to amend the Decreto Sostegni TER and Article 36 related to the 2020 budget law, by providing alternative measures for producers of energy from renewable sources (such as “revamping” the plants, meaning replacing parts of the plant and repairing it to restore optimal production). For us, it would become unsustainable to keep our plants open, and shutting everything down would be more advantageous than operating at a loss.

The impact of the shutdown could be devastating; all productive activities could suffer, from agriculture to industry and craftsmanship. These plants directly employ over 70,000 people who would find themselves unemployed. I regret even hearing our producers worried that such a drastic measure could lead to the shutdown of the plants. Therefore, I trust in the Draghi Government and the Minister of Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, who recently reiterated the centrality of renewable energies, that is, us at Aceper, in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr) as well as in managing the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.”