MILAN (Reuters) - Italy needs to add 190 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2035 if it wants to meet a G7 pledge to reach a close to net-zero power system in the next decade, climate change think-tank ECCO and consultancy firm Artelys said.
The study presented in Rome on Monday underlines the challenge the country faces to overhaul its energy sector to cut carbon emissions.
The Italian power system is still heavily dependent on fossil resources, as more than 50% of electricity in the country is generated by burning natural gas, oil or coal.
ECCO and Artelys calculated that by 2035, Italy will have to get to a total of around 250 GW of renewable capacity to achieve an overwhelmingly decarbonised electricity sector.
"Reaching these levels of renewable deployment requires the installation rate of solar and wind capacities to multiply by seven by 2030, and by more than eight by 2035," the two organisations said.
Current installation rates amount to 1.7 GW per year for solar photovoltaic capacity and 0.4 GW per year for wind capacity.
Under this transition path, electricity produced by burning natural gas will be nearly zero by 2035 with thermo-electric plants converted to hydrogen and biogas.