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Performance Indicators of Electricity Generation at Country Level—The Case of Italy

Author

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  • Michel Noussan

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy)

  • Roberta Roberto

    (Energy Technologies Department, ENEA—Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Research Center of Saluggia, Strada per Crescentino 41, 13040 Saluggia, Italy)

  • Benedetto Nastasi

    (Department of Architectural Engineering & Technology, Environmental & Computational Design Section, TU Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 134, 2628BL Delft, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Power Grids face significant variability in their operation, especially where there are high proportions of non-programmable renewable energy sources constituting the electricity mix. An accurate and up-to-date knowledge of operational data is essential to guaranteeing the optimal management of the network, and this aspect will be even more crucial for the full deployment of Smart Grids. This work presents a data analysis of the electricity production at the country level, by considering some performance indicators based on primary energy consumption, the share of renewable energy sources, and CO 2 emissions. The results show a significant variability of the indicators, highlighting the need of an accurate knowledge of operational parameters as a support for future Smart Grid management algorithms based on multi-objective optimization of power generation. The renewable share of electricity production has a positive impact, both on the primary energy factor and on the CO 2 emission factor. However, a strong increase of the renewable share requires that the supply/demand mismatching issues be dealt with through appropriate measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Michel Noussan & Roberta Roberto & Benedetto Nastasi, 2018. "Performance Indicators of Electricity Generation at Country Level—The Case of Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:3:p:650-:d:136273
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Hamels, Sam & Himpe, Eline & Laverge, Jelle & Delghust, Marc & Van den Brande, Kjartan & Janssens, Arnold & Albrecht, Johan, 2021. "The use of primary energy factors and CO2 intensities for electricity in the European context - A systematic methodological review and critical evaluation of the contemporary literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    9. Giorgio Provolo & Gabriele Mattachini & Alberto Finzi & Martina Cattaneo & Viviana Guido & Elisabetta Riva, 2018. "Global Warming and Acidification Potential Assessment of a Collective Manure Management System for Bioenergy Production and Nitrogen Removal in Northern Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, October.
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    12. Al-Masri, Hussein M.K. & AbuElrub, Ahmad & Almehizia, Abdullah A. & Ehsani, Mehrdad, 2019. "Multi-figure of merit optimization for global scale sustainable power systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 538-549.
    13. Majidi Nezhad, M. & Groppi, D. & Marzialetti, P. & Fusilli, L. & Laneve, G. & Cumo, F. & Garcia, D. Astiaso, 2019. "Wind energy potential analysis using Sentinel-1 satellite: A review and a case study on Mediterranean islands," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 499-513.
    14. Mattetti, Michele & Annesi, Gianvito & Intrevado, Francesco Pio & Alberti, Luigi, 2025. "Investigating the efficiency of hybrid architectures for agricultural tractors using real-world farming data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PB).
    15. Simon Pezzutto & Silvia Croce & Stefano Zambotti & Lukas Kranzl & Antonio Novelli & Pietro Zambelli, 2019. "Assessment of the Space Heating and Domestic Hot Water Market in Europe—Open Data and Results," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-16, May.
    16. Tronchin, Lamberto & Manfren, Massimiliano & Nastasi, Benedetto, 2018. "Energy efficiency, demand side management and energy storage technologies – A critical analysis of possible paths of integration in the built environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 341-353.
    17. Matteo Giacomo Prina & Giampaolo Manzolini & David Moser & Roberto Vaccaro & Wolfram Sparber, 2020. "Multi-Objective Optimization Model EPLANopt for Energy Transition Analysis and Comparison with Climate-Change Scenarios," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, June.
    18. Manuel Uche-Soria & Carlos Rodríguez-Monroy, 2018. "Special Regulation of Isolated Power Systems: The Canary Islands, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, July.
    19. Avesani, Diego & Zanfei, Ariele & Di Marco, Nicola & Galletti, Andrea & Ravazzolo, Francesco & Righetti, Maurizio & Majone, Bruno, 2022. "Short-term hydropower optimization driven by innovative time-adapting econometric model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    20. Andrea Porcu & Stefano Sollai & Davide Marotto & Mauro Mureddu & Francesca Ferrara & Alberto Pettinau, 2019. "Techno-Economic Analysis of a Small-Scale Biomass-to-Energy BFB Gasification-Based System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, February.
    21. Francesco Neirotti & Michel Noussan & Stefano Riverso & Giorgio Manganini, 2019. "Analysis of Different Strategies for Lowering the Operation Temperature in Existing District Heating Networks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, January.
    22. Constantinos A. Balaras & Elena G. Dascalaki & Ioanna Psarra & Tomasz Cholewa, 2022. "Primary Energy Factors for Electricity Production in Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-21, December.
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    24. Michel Noussan & Francesco Neirotti, 2020. "Cross-Country Comparison of Hourly Electricity Mixes for EV Charging Profiles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-14, May.

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