Directive (EU) 2018/2001—better known as RED II—replaced the previous Directive 2009/28/EC (RED I) by setting a new EU target of 32% renewable energy in gross final consumption by 2030. Although the RED II Directive did not set new binding targets for individual member states, achieving the new target is based on a more integrated monitoring and reporting process.

With Legislative Decree No 199 of November 8, 2021, Italy transposed Directive 2018/2001. Article 20 of the decree provides for the issuance of one or more decrees by which to establish the principles and homogeneous criteria for the identification of eligible and ineligible areas for the installation of renewable energy plants, as well as—for the purpose of the concrete achievement of the objectives—the distribution of installed power among autonomous regions and provinces.

In order to support the government in defining the regional targets, different criteria for the allocation of future RES plant installations were therefore analyzed also by investigating the impact of the different configurations on the operation of the national electricity system by 2030. In order to take into account the new targets introduced by the Green Deal program (December 2019) and to be pursued through the implementation of the measures contained in the FF55 package (July 2021), it was decided for this study to consider an additional capacity of RES installations already in line with the new community targets defined in the ‘Fit for 55’ package and therefore higher than that planned in the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate (PNIEC).