Italy:

Concerns in Italy over New Geothermal Incentives (EGEC)

The geothermal community in Italy is expressing deep concern regarding the new incentives for the production of renewable electricity. The new support schemes for the period beyond 2012 are under evaluation by the government and expected to be approved by the end of February.

The draft Ministerial decree, implementing the Legislative Decree 28/2011, would set insufficient support for geothermal electricity. According to UGI, the national geothermal association of Italy, such a very low support would undermine the development of the sector after that the liberalisation of the geothermal resources in 2010 has triggered a boom of 110 permission requests for exploration over the last two years.

In this regard, a meeting is convened in order to gather all stakeholders and professionals involved in the sector and to take further steps towards policy-makers and national authorities. The meeting will be held in Rome on the 31st of January 2012. For further information contact: info@unionegeotermica.it