Italy’s Edison eyes 4-GW renewables expansion by 2030

March 22 (Renewables Now) - Italian energy supplier Edison SpA (BIT:EDNR) on Tuesday unveiled a plan to invest EUR 5 billion (USD 5.39bn) to boost its renewable power generation capacity to 6 GW by 2030 from the current 2 GW.

The unit of EDF Electricite de France SA intends to add around 1 GW of wind and 2 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to its fleet, while the remaining 1 GW will come from renewable sources for green hydrogen production and energy storage.

“By 2030, green generation will account for 40% of our production mix in a major decarbonisation effort,” said Marco Stangalino, Edison's executive vice president and Power Asset director.

The expansion will be achieved through an organic growth plan that focuses on renewable energy deployment and the installation of flexibility systems such as pumped storage and batteries.

At present, the Italian group has 500 MW of solar and 600 MW of wind projects in the pipeline that are awaiting approval, mainly in central-southern Italy. Additional projects have already been authorised or are under construction. This year, the company intends to apply for permits for some 1.4 GW of wind and solar PV capacity, it said.

Edison’s power plants deliver electricity to cover around 7% of Italy’s power demand.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.077)