With 17% of energy from renewable sources, Italy has already reached 2 years ahead of schedule the target set at the European level for 2020. The next target is set at 2030 when the percentage from renewable sources will have to rise from 20% to 32% of the total. In this scenario, biomass plays a major role especially for Italy, where 50% of all "green" energy is produced by processing residues and specific energy crops.
This is what emerged from the in-depth meetings organized as part of EIMA Energy, the exhibition dedicated to renewable agricultural and forestry energy, promoted by Itabia and FederUnacoma during EIMA International. A strong theme of the conferences and workshops of EIMA Energy, scheduled until Saturday, November 10, is precisely that linked to the optimal use and enhancement of agro-forest biomass, a sustainable but not inexhaustible resource, which, therefore, must be used respecting specific sustainability criteria. Namely, as the experts of EIMA Energy specified, it must be used within structured chains that take into consideration the environmental, economic and social impact generated by a correct management of agricultural and agro-industrial waste and all the biomass deriving from a virtuous exploitation of forests.
"The bioenergy sector," explains Matteo Monni, Vice President of Itabia "is a sector characterized by great vitality. In these years of crisis, thanks to a rational and efficient incentive system for the construction of plants, including biomass plants, renewables have given a great support to the income of farmers and, more generally, to our economy."
Today the agro-energy sector is still tied to incentives, but it has started to walk more and more with its own legs, making Italy one of the leading exporters of know-how and technology. And among the production excellence mentioned in the four days of EIMA Energy, we find that of biogas, with 1,500 agro-plants for a total installed power equal to that of a modern nuclear power plant. However, as has been mentioned several times in the meetings at EIMA Energy, the field of use of biomass is not limited only to the energy sector because it involves several productive sectors, from textiles to green chemistry, and from compostable and biodegradable plastics to green building. In short, on the wave of energy exploitation, a true bio-economy based on biomasses was born and developed, and whose main strengths are proximity, circularity and sustainability.
