Wind, solar power in Italy meets 15% of H1 demand

July 24 (Renewables Now) - Wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) power met over 15% of Italy’s power demand in the first half of 2019, shows the latest monthly report by power grid operator Terna SpA (BIT:TRN).

Total demand for the six months reached 157.3 TWh, down by 0.6% year-on-year. Solar power generation grew by 9.8% to 12.55 TWh, while wind farms produced 11.21 TWh, which is 16.1% more than in the first half of 2018.

The share of all renewables for the period arrived at 36%. When hydropower is excluded, that share is almost 22.5%.

The table contains details on generation by the different renewable energy sources in Italy.

Output in GWh June 2019 June 2018 H1 2019 H1 2018 Wind 993 1,418 11,208 9,652 Solar 2,942 2,794 12,551 11,428 Hydro 5,952 6,018 21,318 25,730 Biomass 1,395 1,506 8,718 8,845 Total net production 24,705 23,883 139,193 135,727 Demand 27,811 27,032 157,320 158,230

June saw a 30% drop in wind power generation, year-on-year. While wind output remained near 2.4 TWh in each month of the first quarter, it has been on the slide in the second quarter. In June it fell to 0.99 TWh from 1.65 TWh in May. Solar power generation, as can be expected, reached its highest level so far in 2019, producing 2.94 TWh of power in June.