Based on estimates prepared with Accenture, Elettricità Futura, an association of Italian electricity companies, shows that not only 85 Gw renewable plants are needed, but also the installation of 80 GWh of new large-scale storage power is necessary. Between now and 2030, this would be the way to meet the European target of 45 percent (42.5 percent the mandatory share) of consumption from renewable resources. In fact, it is not enough to expand generation capacity from wind farms and photovoltaics, but a system is needed to retain this energy, which is by its nature intermittent, and release it into the grid: this is made possible by storage facilities, i.e., batteries needed to balance the electricity infrastructure. As of December 2022, there were 227,477 electrochemical storage systems installed in Italy, representing a total of just over 2 GWh of capacity. Almost all of these are small-scale systems. Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna host more than half of the current capacity. The Italian association forecasts a total of 320 billion euros of investment over the period 2022-2030, of which the installation of 80 GWh of new large-scale storage capacity will activate 30.
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