Our levers for the climate

The emission reduction targets also pose industrial choices for the Italian system. It will indeed be necessary to complement renewable sources, which are partially or totally non-programmable, with flexibility systems and programmable energy sources (estimated at least 20% of total electricity production). Mobility also plays a crucial role in climate change, being one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. In Europe, the transport sector accounts for about a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions. We are committed to sustainable energy transition, which includes the development of low-carbon and green gas energies, the promotion of the production and use of renewable energies and flexibility solutions, and the development of both electric and gas sustainable mobility solutions.

With an installed capacity of 2.2 GW from renewable sources including solar, wind, and hydroelectric, we produced 5.5 TWh of energy from renewable sources in 2024, avoiding the emission of 2.4 Mtons of CO₂ into the atmosphere (a significant portion of the Group's total avoided emissions of 2.8 Mtons). Thanks to the commissioning of the aforementioned plants in 2024, we confirm our growth path in the development and implementation of new renewable capacity, from the current 2 GW to 5 GW, thus contributing to the country's decarbonization goals.

Regarding photovoltaic technology, in 2024 we renewed our partnership with Chiron Energy, an independent platform for the development, investment, and management of renewable energies, by signing a new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) aimed at the construction of 5 photovoltaic plants in Northern Italy, located in Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Veneto. The new ten-year agreement provides for the withdrawal of all renewable energy produced to be made available to our customers, while Chiron Energy will take care of the construction, building, and subsequent operational management of the asset.
 
The plants will come into operation in the first half of 2025 and will have an estimated average production of about 50 GWh per year, capable of meeting the energy needs of 19,000 families. With the commissioning of over 30 MW of new photovoltaic capacity in 2024, which adds to the over 60 MW of 2023, we continue our growth in photovoltaics with 7 plants in Piedmont for approximately 47 MW and 2 in Sicily for approximately 45 MW.

In terms of wind technology, based on an agreement, we have acquired a stake in the special purpose company Wind Energy Pozzallo S.R.L., which holds a 975 MW offshore wind development project off the coast of Sicily, currently undergoing authorization at the MASE. If realized, the plant will significantly contribute to national targets for the growth of new installed renewable capacity and the decarbonization of electricity production. Its construction, expected to take 3 years, will also generate significant economic benefits both during the construction phase and in the operational and maintenance phase for at least thirty years.
 
Additionally, 2024 was the year we began the complete reconstruction of 4 plants in the province of Chieti, which involves the removal of 67 turbines and the installation of 18 new-generation ones, thus increasing average production by 174% to 125 GWh per year, meeting the energy needs of over 46,000 families.
 
During the year, we signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the FERA Group (Fabbrica Energie Rinnovabili Alternative) for the management of energy produced by a wind farm with an installed capacity of 20 MW (and an average production of 55 GWh per year) in the province of Savona, Liguria. The five-year agreement provides for Edison to withdraw all the renewable energy generated (certified by the relevant guarantees of origin), which the Group will manage on the market and resell to its customers interested in a renewable supply contract.

With an installed capacity of almost 1 GW consisting of both large and small-scale plants, we intend to maintain our historic role as a responsible operator through investments, including in mini-hydro projects, in synergy with territorial specificities.
 
In 2024, we signed a programmatic agreement with Webuild for the development of hydroelectric pumping projects, highly strategic infrastructures for ecological transition and national energy security. The agreement provides for close collaboration in the definition and implementation of the pumping projects of Pescopagano (PZ) in Basilicata and Villarosa (EN) in Sicily developed by Edison. The two pumping projects are part of our strategy for the growth of renewable energies in Italy, which aims to increase the installed green capacity to 5 GW by 2030 (from the current 2 GW) and jointly to create about 500 MW of storage, as necessary tools to avoid wasting renewable energy produced during periods of high availability and to ensure the security of the electricity grid.

The emission reduction targets also pose industrial choices for the Italian system. It will be necessary to complement renewable sources, limited or totally non-programmable, with flexible systems and programmable energy sources (at least 20% of the total electricity production is estimated). In this path, the role of progressively decarbonized gas remains relevant as a transitional energy fuel.

In recent years, we have decided to invest in a selected number of high-efficiency gas combined cycle plants (Class H CCGT) to ensure the stability of the electrical system, also in anticipation of the increasing integration of non-programmable renewable energies; these implementations do not preclude the achievement of the climate-altering emissions targets we have set for 2030.
In this regard, in 2024, we inaugurated a new next-generation combined cycle thermoelectric plant in Presenzano, in the province of Caserta, which, together with our Porto Marghera plant (Venice area) inaugurated in 2023, is among the most advanced and efficient plants in the world and the most efficient in Italy.

We are studying possible methodologies for the capture and storage (CCS – Carbon Capture and Storage) of CO₂ downstream of the combustion of fossil-origin natural gas. High-efficiency gas combined cycle plants, coupled with decarbonization solutions, can indeed help ensure the adequacy of the electrical system, meeting demand during periods of scarcity of renewable energies while simultaneously minimizing the carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere.

Research and innovation will be fundamental to making other generation technologies available for the transition, including new nuclear through Small Scale Modular Reactors (SMR), if conditions are created for its return in Italy.

At the same time, the biogas production chain is under development. We aim to install 10 biogas/biomethane plants by 2030. Currently, in Italy, we have 3 operational plants, 2 in the authorization phase, and 1 under construction, while in Spain there are 2 plants awaiting authorization.

We recognize hydrogen as a key energy carrier for customers and synergistic with our core business. The Puglia Green Hydrogen Valley project has been selected for IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) funding amounting to a maximum of 370 million euros, confirming its strategic importance and feasibility. The initiative is one of the first for large-scale green hydrogen production in Europe and involves the construction of two plants in Brindisi and Taranto, with a total electrolysis capacity of 160 MW. Once operational, it is estimated that the Puglia Green Hydrogen Valley plants will be able to produce approximately 250 million cubic meters of green hydrogen per year.

We promote sustainable mobility with both electric and gas solutions. For electric mobility solutions, for retail customers and SMEs, with Edison Energia we provide charging infrastructure, installation and assistance services, and solutions for managing charges. In particular, Edison Energia, thanks to the partnership with Toyota/Lexus aimed at electrifying all the brand's Italian dealership locations and Authorized Service Centers, has installed approximately 400 charging points to date.
 
In the field of public access charging, by 2024, with Edison Next we have put into operation a total of 146 charging points, of which 40% are quick in AC and 60% are fast in DC. Additionally, we have obtained European Union funding to enhance the ultra-fast electric charging network in Italy, which will allow the creation of 174 ultra-fast electric charging points in 47 Italian locations over the next two years. In the field of private access charging, by 2024 with Edison Next we have put into operation a total of 398 charging points. Among these, particularly for the logistics and transport sector, there are 14 AC charging points of 11kW each for powering the full-electric van fleet at the new Milan headquarters of TYP, a company of the Arcese Group that deals with innovative storage and last-mile delivery services.

As for the sale of biomethane, with Edison Energia we were the first to start this activity in 2018 and continue to be primary operators. Biomethane is collected from about 20 production plants and supplied to methane refueling stations for cars distributed throughout the national territory according to demand. Biomethane helps reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions related to road transport and significantly lowers fuel costs.
 
In 2024, with Edison Energia and TUA (Trasporto Unico Abruzzese), we signed a one-year agreement for the supply of approximately 3 million cubic meters of biomethane to power up to 200 buses in the regional fleet. The commercialization of biomethane is made possible by Edison Energia's activities regarding the use of natural gas in transportation.

In 2024, we strengthened the collaboration between Edison Energia and Logicompany 3 (LC3 Trasporti) with an agreement aimed at promoting sustainable logistics through the use of Bio-LNG and 100% renewable electricity. This partnership allows LC3 to power over 100 vehicles with biomethane, significantly reducing CO₂ emissions along the entire logistics chain, also thanks to the micro-liquefaction system at the Piacenza refueling station, which ensures the exclusive use of 100% bio LNG and improves refueling efficiency.
In total, in 2024 Edison Energia:
 

• Continued the collaboration with FERCAM and Arcese Trasporti;
   
  
• Collected Bio-LNG from 3 production plants located in Veneto, Lombardy, and Campania;

 

• Supplied more than 20 refueling stations equipped with LNG systems.

 
Overall, the quantities of LNG and Bio-LNG supplied correspond to the refueling of 17,000 articulated trucks.
 
At the same time, with Edison Next and SEA - Aeroporti di Milano, we also announced in 2024 the development of a green hydrogen refueling station within Milan Malpensa International Airport for the decarbonization of airport logistics.

We are committed to actively supporting gas customers in their journey towards carbon neutrality and promoting the decarbonization of our economy. We have developed an action plan to demonstrate the company's actual commitment to being a Responsible Gas Supplier. To this end, primarily through Edison Energia and Edison Next, we are committed to facilitating the electrification of our gas end customers' consumption and supporting them in efficiency processes and conscious use of energy resources.
 
We are also committed to investing in new installed capacity from photovoltaics on customer sites for 500 MW by 2030 and in biomethane and green hydrogen production plants, partially replacing fossil-origin natural gas supplied to customers. In 2024, with Edison Next, we signed contracts for new renewable plants, reaching a low-carbon self-production value for industrial customers of 229 MW.

We are strongly interested in customer orientation and their evolving needs, in the experience of developing and managing our assets, where we adopt the best available technologies for new initiatives and for modernization projects of existing ones, and in the expertise in the environmental services sector. We promote progressive decarbonization of consumption, production, and processes among our customers, self-production and energy sharing, energy optimization and efficiency, and proper waste and resource management in a circular economy perspective.
 
The goal is to support residential customers in using energy more responsibly, consuming less and better, and to help businesses and industries optimize their plants and processes from an energy perspective, increasing their sustainability and energy independence while maintaining market competitiveness. Finally, we stand by the Public Administration to seize opportunities for efficiency in buildings, neighborhoods, and cities, for the regeneration of disused areas, and for the creation of energy communities that enhance local resources.

In this regard, the actions implemented with Edison Next, the Edison Group company with which we accompany customers and territories in their decarbonization and energy transition journey, are important. In 2024, with Edison Next, we inaugurated with Michelin Italiana a system of plants for the decarbonization and optimization of energy consumption at the Cuneo plant, the largest site of the Group in Western Europe for tire production, reducing its CO₂ emissions by approximately 18,000 tons per year. The system of interventions carried out with Edison Next will allow the Michelin plant in Cuneo to anticipate the achievement of the 2030 goal of reducing emissions by 50% compared to 2010 and to advance towards the subsequent target of carbon neutrality by 2050, being able to rely on a plant already prepared for the use of biomethane and hydrogen. Regarding the Public Administration sector, with Edison Next in 2024, we activated 23 new municipalities in Italy, including Trieste, for 75,000 light points and 2 municipalities in Spain for 58,000 light points.