Towards an energy autonomous and zero emission Trentino
Since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol (1997), the European Union (EU) has been strongly committed to fighting climate change through the adoption of multiple decarbonization policies. In the intentions of the new European Commission, the Green Deal “will transform the European Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern market economy where greenhouse gas emissions will be eliminated. Europe will be the first climate-neutral continent by 2050”.
The Autonomous Province of Trento aims to become the protagonist of this energy transition and since 2018 has set up a special working group composed of the Provincial Agency for Water Resources and Energy (APRIE), the University of Trento, Fondazione Bruno Kessler and Fondazione Edmund Mach, that will draw up a new Provincial Environmental Energy Plan. FBK has coordinated the drafting of the new energy scenarios, aligned with the EU decarbonisation objectives, and with a long time horizon, extended to 2050, necessary to target the investments of the next decade.
“The PAT analysis on energy flows made it possible to pin down and quantify strengths and weaknesses. The main strength is undoubtedly the large hydroelectric production which generates a surplus of renewable sources compared to the electricity demand in Trentino. In this context, an overall decarbonization of the Trentino energy system can only be obtained with electrification solutions that make it possible to leverage on Trentino’s “green” electricity also in the thermal (through heat pumps) and transport (through electric mobility) sectors, including some hydrogen production”, explains Luigi Crema, ARES (FBK) head of unit.