contacts glossary faq link NEWS ARCHIVE PRESS RELEASES PLANT CONSTRUCTION VIDEO REMIT HOME / ENERGY CONTEXT In Italy the production of electricity takes place for the most part (about 76.5%) with thermoelectric plants, which mainly use fossil sources (coal, oil and natural gas) and to a lesser extent renewable sources (biomass and waste), and for the remaining part (about 23.5%) with geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and photovoltaic plants, which use renewable sources . Internal production, however, does not entirely cover national consumption, therefore part of the requirement must be covered by purchasing energy from abroad, transported to the country through the use of cross-border power lines. The national electricity balance for the year 2010 is as follows: Electricity balance 2010. Data in GWh 2010 % Variation 2009-2010 Gross hydroelectric production 54,460 +1.8 Gross thermoelectric production 231.248 +2 Gross geothermal production 5,375 +0.63 Gross wind production 9.125 +39.4 Gross photovoltaic production 1,905 +181 Total gross production 302.062 +3.2 Production intended for consumption 286.294 +4 Total request Italy 330.454 +3.2 Import / export balance with foreign countries +44.160 -1.7 Total consumption in Italy 309.884 +3.3 Network losses 20,570 +1 Source: TERNA 2010 data processing The trend highlighted between 2009 and 2010 follows a growing trend for several years now: the electricity balance sees an increase in consumption, a partial increase in production which leads to a slight reduction in imports from abroad. Diventa importante per un concreto sviluppo orientarsi verso un’autonomia nella produzione dell'energia elettrica, che metta al riparo l'Italia da rischi di black out, come quelli avvenuti nell’estate del 2003. In Italia sono presenti centrali per la produzione elettrica dislocate su tutto il territorio nazionale. Gli impianti idroelettrici sono presenti soprattutto nel Nord Italia. Gli impianti termoelettrici sono situati un pò in tutte le regioni. Gli impianti geotermici sono presenti in Toscana, mentre quelli eolici trovano la loro localizzazione soprattutto nel Sud Italia e nelle Isole.