Hydroelectric power in Italy

In Italy 39.2% of energy produced in 2016 by renewable sources comes from hydroelectric. According to the data of GSE (Gestore dei Servizi Elettrici), at the end of 2016, the hydroelectric power produced in Italy amounted to 42.432 GWh. In Italy in 1938, 14.6 GWh out of 15.5 GWh  total energy produced, was hydroelectric power. This source contributed to the start of Italian industrialization in the 19th-20th Century. After being the main source of electric power up to the 60s (82% of the total), the percentage of this renewable source progressively decreased, while the quantity produced  remained constant. In the 80s, the percentage of hydroelectric power had dropped to 25%, while thermoelectric power production, during the same period  increased from 14 to 70%.
The potential of the hydroelectric resources in Italy is exploited to about 90% and the maximum limit of possible exploitation has been reached. It therefore does not seem to be a sector that can expand further.
The  fact that more favourable and convenient sites, from a technical and economical point of view,  are already being utilized, contributes to the  “closing” of this sector, and a number of technical, environmental and economic obstacles have arisen with regard to the realization of new high-capacity  and high-output power stations. Consequently the future of hydroelectricity in Italy seems to consist in the realization of only the low-output.

 
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