15 April 2006

A new energy policy

Our country depends on energy imports. If the price of oil, gas, or electricity goes up, we feel that immediately.
The cost of oil is more than 70 dollars a barrel according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “an increase of a further 10% can determine the fall in the growth rate by up to 1.5% at a global level.”
The nations like Italy that import energy and that have a low rate of growth of the Gross Domestic product (GDP) will be in serious difficulty. Italy had zero growth in 2005, just another thing inherited from the previous government.
It is urgent to establish a national energy plan to put policies into action within the first 100 days of the new government.

Italia dei Valori is backing the development of renewable sources. It’s particularly keen to promote “new renewables” like photovoltaics, solar thermodynamics, wind power, biomass, small scale hydro-electricity, and is still interested in the “old renewables” like “big hydro-electricity” and geothermal power (which is particularly well developed in Italy)
Renewable resources are both a great economic resource as well as being a great environmental resource.
Italia dei Valori will promote investments in the use of cogeneration of electricity and heat, of electricity generating stations using methane gas and photovoltaics so that great tax advantages can be offered to those citizens who adopt these technologies.
Support to renewable resources must also be accompanied by an energy saving policy.

Sooner or later, oil reserves will dry up. Oil prices are sure to rise. Italy must establish its own long-term energy policy based on alternatives to non-renewable sources.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Economy