In half an hour, which was the length of the information given by Prime Minister Mario Draghi in the Chamber of Deputies on the crisis between Ukraine and Russia, the premier received 17 applause, which interrupted him as many times. 4 of these were paid to the Italy’s new energy strategy, illustrated by Draghi, to free themselves from Russian gas in the shortest possible time. A realpolitk who wants to break free from the bureaucratic shackle e he does not hesitate to hypothesize the reopening of coal plants.
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Renewables and the fight against bureaucracy
Draghi in his speech to Montecitorio clearly underlined the importance of renewables and the limits they find in the bureaucratic machine. Faced with the gas crisis that Italy and all of Europe are experiencing, the premier said, the most valid response in the long term is to proceed quickly, as we are doing, in the direction of greater development of renewable sources, also and especially with a greater simplification of the procedures for installing the systems. Because this is one of the historical knots of our country: the red tape. Draghi himself wanted to reiterate it: the obstacles to speed are not technical or technological, but are only bureaucratic. So streamline the procedures to get to the goal of renewables faster. A goal that for not around the corner. In other words, our dependence on gas will not be resolved in a timely manner: as the premier admits, gas remains essential as a transition fuel.
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The three alternatives to Russian gas
Here then it becomes essential to increase alternative supplies to Siberian gas, which are practically three, as the Corriere had already written: to extract more “Italian gas”, or to increase national production; increase liquefied natural gas imported from other routes, such as the United States (President Joe Biden has offered his willingness – clarified Draghi – to support allies with greater supplies); and strengthen the southern corridor to the detriment of other imports, which in a nutshell means: focusing on the TAP, the gas pipeline that connects Puglia to Azerbaijan (bypassing Russia); on the Greenstream, the gas pipeline from Libya, which reaches Gela 520 km long; and on the TransMed (2,000 km long), which connects our country to Algeria, crossing Tunisia to Mazara del Vallo. To date, in fact, Algeria is our second exporter of gas, immediately after Russia.
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Increase infrastructure and regasification plants
To increase national gas production, however, new regasifiers are needed. In fact, our capacity of use is limited by the small number of regasifiers in operation. For the future – Draghi hoped – a reflection on these infrastructures is more than ever opportune. But that’s not all. The premier has touched a key that will not be appreciated by environmental movements. Draghi has, in fact, speculated the reopening of coal-fired plants. Obviously, only as a temporary patch to the energy crisis, or, as the premier said, to fill any shortcomings in the short term. A return to a highly polluting fossil source, however, would mean reneging on the commitment to shelve it made at last year’s Glasgow climate conference.
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Storage in Italy is good, but a common EU system is needed
Lastly, the issue of storage, which is fundamental to intervene in times of crisis and prevent some states of the Union from going into distress. According to Draghi, Italy is committed to pushing the European Union in the direction of common storage mechanisms, which will help all countries to face moments of temporary reduction in supplies. The current crisis could finally push the EU to a positive response on the issue. Our country benefited, at the beginning of winter, from a better situation than that of other European countries, also thanks to the quality of our infrastructures. The filling level had reached 90% at the end of October, while the other European countries were stuck at 75%. Now, however, the stocks – used at full capacity – in February have already reached the level they generally have at the end of March. This situation – explains Draghi -, which would have been more serious in the absence of adequate infrastructures and policies, similar to that experienced by other European countries including Germany. The end of winter and the arrival of milder temperatures in our country allow us to look forward to the next few months with greater confidence.
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