Italy: gas consumption in Italy 2017-2030
In Italy, the consumption of natural gas is expected to peak in 2020 at 74 billion cubic meters. Thereafter, it is forecasted to gradually decrease until 2030. Looking back at the past, it comes out that the consumption of natural gas oscillated over time . It peaked in 2005 at 82.8 gigawatt hours, before gradually decreasing and reaching an all-time low of 59.4 gigawatt hours in 2014. Nonetheless, between 2014 and 2017, the volume of natural gas consumed steadily increased.
Natural gas imports
The domestic production of natural gas constantly decreased . Indeed, the rate of dependency from natural gas in Italy has always been quite high . The rate of dependency is the ratio between net gas imports and internal availability excluding stocks. To put it differently, Italy imported a relevant volume of natural gas, especially from Russia .
Natural gas as primary electricity source
The availability of natural gas is an important issue in Italy, given that in 2017, it was the primary source of electricity . It is also true that in the next years the country may increasingly rely on renewables for electricity production. However, the transition could take quite some time and nowadays natural gas seems to be the leading source of the Italian decarbonization process.
Natural gas imports
The domestic production of natural gas constantly decreased . Indeed, the rate of dependency from natural gas in Italy has always been quite high . The rate of dependency is the ratio between net gas imports and internal availability excluding stocks. To put it differently, Italy imported a relevant volume of natural gas, especially from Russia .
Natural gas as primary electricity source
The availability of natural gas is an important issue in Italy, given that in 2017, it was the primary source of electricity . It is also true that in the next years the country may increasingly rely on renewables for electricity production. However, the transition could take quite some time and nowadays natural gas seems to be the leading source of the Italian decarbonization process.
