Italy business lobby calls for emergency action to boost renewables roll out

MILAN, June 16 (Reuters) - Italy's business lobby Confindustria has called for emergency action from the government to speed up the roll-out of renewable energy in the country, which is grappling with much higher power costs than in most of Europe.

The recent increase in gas prices triggered by the Iran war has highlighted the cost for Italian families and firms of the slow development of renewables, and sparked fresh calls for more decisive action to promote green policies.

Confindustria President Emanuele Orsini urged Giorgia Meloni's government to appoint a special commissioner to oversee the permitting process for renewable projects, along the lines of emergency action taken to ensure gas supplies in 2022.

"Some 4,000 permits for renewable projects amounting to 130 gigawatt must be unblocked... we need a commissioner," Orsini said on Monday at an event in the northern city of Varese.

The risk of inaction is that manufacturers will leave Italy for countries with lower energy costs, Orsini said, also urging the European Commission to create a single market for power.

Gas, which ​is more expensive than renewables, accounts for almost half of Italy's electricity production, the highest proportion in the European Union, according to 2025 data by global energy think ⁠tanks Ember and the Energy Institute.

That compares with around a fifth in Spain and 3% in France's nuclear-dominated system.

When Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 gave rise to an acute energy crisis, Italy's government appointed special commissioners to speed up the roll-out of new liquefied natural gas terminals and diversify gas imports.

Energy experts say that overlapping competencies between Italy's central government and local administrations is one of the big hurdles slowing down the permitting process for renewables.

Offshore wind farms are among projects that have been worst hit by delays.

Offshore wind lobby Aero said in a report last week that the sector could cover around 7% of the national power demand by 2030 if promised government incentives for these projects are unblocked quickly.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini, editing by Gavin Jones)