Just think that today the photovoltaic systems present in our country produce approximately 2,571 MWh of green energy and the total energy consumption of the agricultural sector in Italy is 10,000,000 MWh", declared Veronica Pitea, President of ACEPER (Association of Consumers and Producers of Renewable Energy) . According to recent research by international bodies such as the WWF (https://www.wwf.it/uploads/Effetto-clima-sullagricoltura-2023-WWF-Italia.pdf) intensive cattle and pig farming today contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, which is one of the main drivers of climate change and is causing atmospheric disasters. The annual report published at the end of 2023 by the WWF , in particular, shows the effects of the climate crisis on the food market. The analysis shows that our current food system is the cause of 37% of total greenhouse gas emissions, one of the main drivers of climate change. in progress. "Between 2005 and 2019, the Italian agricultural sector has already reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 9%, but European climate policies (within the EU-ETS European Union Emission Trading Scheme Directive) have established that Italy will have to reduce them further and by 33% compared to 2005 levels by 2030. The use of photovoltaic energy would certainly give an important hand to all agricultural companies", added Pitea. Last September 16, the Government officially launched the third Call for Proposals Parco Agrisolare 2024 dedicated to the regions of Southern Italy, which will close on October 14 and which provides contributions to be allocated to agricultural and agro-industrial companies that wish to invest in photovoltaic solar energy. "So far in Italy only 25,000 companies have joined the calls for tenders related to agri-solar, thus opening a door to photovoltaics. Certainly, given the energy consumption numbers that we record in Italy, these are too low compared to our needs, it would mean increasing the consumption of green energy by only about 15,000 MWh. And this is certainly not enough to improve competitiveness at a national level and to reduce the tax burden on end users", admitted Pitea. The numbers are even more worrying if we consider the South: "We analyzed the ACEPER database which has over 10 thousand members in total: only 500 applications were presented by agricultural companies, of which only 20 come from southern Italy" , continued the President of ACEPER. Italy is therefore lagging behind other European countries in renewables and is not even taking full advantage of the latest Agrisolar Call opened by the Government: "At the moment we are not at all competitive with regards to renewable energy. In addition to the data just mentioned, I can add that today in Italy we pay around 200 euros per MWh for energy, while China pays 80 euros. Gas costs us 60 euros per MWh compared to 40 in China and even 20 euros in the United States. These numbers are not enough and the fact that even for the Agrisolar Call only 25,000 requests have been submitted so far, that is, only 2.5% of agricultural companies (which in Italy are more than a million), gives us pause for thought. And to think that these companies are precisely the ones that provide us with the raw materials essential for living", concluded Veronica Pitea, President of ACEPER.
