PNRR funds: Installation of strategic energy infrastructures, streamlining the authorisation process for wind and solar power plants, new digitalisation services, smart grids and tangible progress in waste recycling and reforestation of urban cities. These are some of the most relevant targets of the seventh edition of the NRP sent by the Italian government to the European Commission. With a total value of EUR 18.3 billion, it is the tightest tranche of financing revealed so far, with funds largely earmarked for green transformation.
At the time of the Sixth Report to Parliament on the implementation status of the NRP, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, with the highest proportion still held by it, i.e. EUR 33.7 billion, distributed across 49 measures comprising 119 milestones and objectives to be achieved, successfully completed all 12 targets under the seventh instalment. A MASE note says EUR 16 billion was expended, representing 61.16 per cent of available measures. This means that up to now, with this last instalment being settled, the financial success of the Plan will be more than EUR 140 billion, and this corresponds to more than 72 per cent of the total planned financing. Among the most important energy ventures facilitated by the new injection of funds is the eastern sector of the ‘Tyrrhenian link’ and the ‘SA. CO. I. 3’.
An international and European infrastructure project
The latter is the new subsea electricity transmission line between the Peninsula, Sicily, and Sardinia. It is an international and European infrastructure project, split into two parts: the eastern part, from Sicily to the Peninsula, and the western part, from Sicily to Sardinia, for a total length of approximately 970 kilometres and 1000 MW of power. The second project concerns the current electricity connection between Sardinia, Corsica and the Peninsula, which is being upgraded and refurbished. In the context of renewable energy, one of the most important targets of the NRP included in the Executive’s Report is the recently implemented legislative regime, the notorious ‘Consolidated Text of RES’, aimed at consolidating and structuring all the regulations on the subject, yet one which has drawn more controversy than anything else.
This text aims to consolidate and structure all relevant regulations but has generated controversy. Among its main objectives are the delimitation of ‘suitable zones’ for the acceleration of renewables and the application of principles to simplify authorisation procedures at the sub-national level. However, industry and trade associations are concerned that the entry into force of the decree may further complicate procedures, hindering the large-scale deployment of renewables.
Amongst the key objectives of the measure are the demarcation of ‘renewable energy acceleration zones’ and the application of principles to simplify authorization procedures at the sub-national level for renewable energy sources. However, for energy operators and trade associations, the entry into force of the decree will render procedures even more complex, jeopardizing the large-scale diffusion of renewable energies. They encompass, in addition to the seventh instalment of funding for intelligent grids for electricity, agro-voltaic solutions for integrating agricultural productivity and renewable energy, as well as diminishing illegal landfill reduction targets that are vulnerable to European infringement.
PNRR funds
Last June, Italy and the governments of Rwanda signed a €50 million financing agreement through the Italian Climate Fund. The fund, established at the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and managed by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), aims to support Rwanda’s climate resilience efforts. The Italian Climate Fund aims to finance public and private projects in emerging and developing countries that support climate and environmental goals, which are in line with Italy’s international climate commitments. This initiative is part of a broader partnership that includes the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), European institutions, and several International Development Financial Institutions, such as the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
