Editing Economy of Italy (section)

=== Energy and natural resources ===
{{Main|Energy in Italy|Renewable energy in Italy}}
[[File:Pannelli solari Unicoop Tirreno.JPG|thumb|left|Solar panels in [[Piombino]]. Italy is one of the world's largest producers of renewable energy.<ref name="legambiente2015">{{cite web|title=Il rapporto Comuni Rinnovabili 2015|url=http://www.comunirinnovabili.it/il-rapporto-comuni-rinnovabili-2015/|website=Comuni Rinnovabili|date=18 May 2015|publisher=Legambiente|access-date=13 March 2016|language=it}}</ref>]]

Italy consumed about 185 [[Tonne of oil equivalent|Mtoe]] of [[primary energy]] in 2010.<ref>[[BP]] data [http://www.bp.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606071637/http://www.bp.com/|date=6 June 2013}}</ref> This came mostly from [[fossil fuels]]. Among the most used resources are [[petroleum]] (mostly used for the transport sector), [[natural gas]] (used for electric energy production and heating), [[coal]] and [[Renewable energy in Italy|renewables]]. Electricity is produced mainly from [[natural gas]], which accounts for the source of more than half of the total final electric energy produced. Another important source is [[Hydroelectricity in Italy|hydroelectric power]], which was practically the only source of electricity until 1960.

[[Eni]], with operations in 79 countries, is considered one of the seven "[[Supermajor]]" oil companies in the world, and one of the world's largest industrial companies.<ref name=Eni>{{cite web |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=E |title=Summary for Eni SpA |access-date=1 July 2020 |archive-date=4 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604184217/http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=e |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Val'd Agri oil field|Val d'Agri]] area, [[Basilicata]], hosts the largest [[Onshore (hydrocarbons)|onshore]] [[hydrocarbon field]] in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eni.com/en-IT/operations/italy-val-agri-upstream-activities.html |title=In Val d'Agri with Upstream activities |publisher=[[Eni]] |access-date=3 February 2021 |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516034214/https://www.eni.com/en-IT/operations/italy-val-agri-upstream-activities.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Moderate natural gas reserves, mainly in the [[Po Valley]] and offshore [[Adriatic Sea]], have been discovered in recent years and constitute the country's most important mineral resource. 
[[File:Natural resources of Italy.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Natural resources of Italy. Metals are in blue (Al – aluminium ore, Mn — [[manganese]], Fe – iron ore, Hg — [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], PM – polymetallic ores ([[Copper|Cu]], [[Zinc|Zn]], [[Silver|Ag]], [[lead|Pb]]), PY — [[pyrite]]). Fossil fuels are in red (C – coal, G – natural gas, L — [[lignite]], P – petroleum). Non-metallic minerals are in green (ASB — [[asbestos]], F — [[fluorite]], K — [[potash]], MAR — [[marble]], S — [[sulfur]]).]]

Most raw materials needed for manufacturing and more than 80% of the country's energy sources are imported (99.7% of the solid fuels demand, 92.5% of oil, 91.2% of natural gas and 13% of electricity).<ref>{{cite book|url=http://bookshop.europa.eu/it/energy-transport-and-environment-indicators-pbKSDK08001/|title=Energy, transport and environment indicators|year=2008|author=Eurostat|author-link=Eurostat|publisher=EU Bookshop|format=PDF|isbn=978-92-79-09835-2|access-date=10 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://bookshop.europa.eu/it/panorama-of-energy-pbKSGH09001/|title=Panorama of Energy|year=2009|author=Eurostat|author-link=Eurostat|publisher=EU Bookshop|format=PDF|isbn=978-92-79-11151-8|access-date=10 May 2009}}</ref> Due to its reliance on imports, Italians pay approximately 45% more than the EU average for electricity.<ref name="nuclear">{{cite web |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Others/Emerging-Nuclear-Energy-Countries/ |title=Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries |date=December 2014 |publisher=[[World Nuclear Association]] |access-date=11 February 2015 |archive-date=26 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126093825/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Others/Emerging-Nuclear-Energy-Countries/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the last decade, Italy has become one of the world's [[List of countries by electricity production from renewable sources|largest producers of renewable energy]], ranking as the second largest producer in the European Union and the ninth in the world. [[Wind power in Italy|Wind power]], [[Hydroelectricity in Italy|hydroelectricity]], and [[Geothermal power in Italy|geothermal power]] are also important [[Electricity sector in Italy|sources of electricity in the country]]. Italy was the [[Geothermal power in Italy|first country to exploit geothermal energy to produce electricity]].<ref name="UNMIG">{{cite web |title=Inventario delle risorse geotermiche nazionali |publisher=UNMIG |date=2011 |url=http://unmig.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/unmig/geotermia/inventario/inventario.asp |access-date=14 September 2011|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722034736/http://unmig.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/unmig/geotermia/inventario/inventario.asp |archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> The first Italian geothermal power plant was built in [[Tuscany]], which is where all currently active geothermal plants in Italy are located. In 2014 the geothermal production was 5.92 TWh.<ref name="Terna data">{{Cite web |url=http://www.terna.it/default/home_en/electric_system/statistical_data.aspx |title=TERNA statistics data |access-date=21 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518165820/http://www.terna.it/default/home_en/electric_system/statistical_data.aspx |archive-date=18 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Solar power in Italy|Solar energy]] production alone accounted for almost 9% of the total electric production in the country in 2014, making Italy the country with the highest contribution from solar energy in the world.<ref name="legambiente2015"/> The [[Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station]], completed in 2010, is the largest photovoltaic power station in Italy with 85 MW. Other examples of large PV plants in Italy are San Bellino (70.6 MW), Cellino san Marco (42.7 MW) and Sant’ Alberto (34.6 MW).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-energy-system-of-the-month/the-italian-montalto-di-castro-and-rovigo-pv-plants.html|title=The Italian Montalto di Castro and Rovigo PV plants|website=www.solarserver.com|access-date=8 May 2018|archive-date=9 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509012719/https://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-energy-system-of-the-month/the-italian-montalto-di-castro-and-rovigo-pv-plants.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy was also the first country to exploit geothermal energy to produce electricity.<ref name="UNMIG"/>

[[Renewable energy in Italy|Renewable sources]] account for 27.5% of all electricity produced in Italy, with hydro alone reaching 12.6%, followed by solar at 5.7%, wind at 4.1%, bioenergy at 3.5%, and geothermal at 1.6%.<ref name="gse">{{cite web |url=http://www.gse.it/it/Statistiche/RapportiStatistici/Pagine/default.aspx |title=Rapporto Statistico sugli Impianti a fonti rinnovabili |date=19 December 2013 |publisher=Gestore dei Servizi Energetici |format=PDF |access-date=11 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018022905/http://www.gse.it/it/Statistiche/RapportiStatistici/Pagine/default.aspx |archive-date=18 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The rest of the national demand is covered by fossil fuels (38.2% natural gas, 13% coal, 8.4% oil) and by imports.<ref name="gse"/>

Italy has managed four nuclear reactors until the 1980s, but in 1987, after the [[Chernobyl disaster]], a large majority of Italians passed a [[Italian referendums, 1987|referendum]] opting for phasing out [[nuclear power in Italy]]. The government responded by closing existing nuclear power plants and stopping work on projects underway, continuing to work to the nuclear energy program abroad. The national power company [[Enel]] operates seven nuclear reactors in Spain (through [[Endesa (Spain)|Endesa]]) and four in [[Slovakia]] (through [[Slovenské elektrárne]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enel.com/en-GB/group/production/nuclear_power/ |title=Nuclear Production |date=31 December 2013 |publisher=[[Enel]] |access-date=11 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207204805/http://www.enel.com/en-GB/group/production/nuclear_power/ |archive-date=7 February 2015  }}</ref> and in 2005 made an agreement with [[Électricité de France]] for a nuclear reactor in France.<ref name="nuclear"/> With these agreements, Italy has managed to access nuclear power and direct involvement in design, construction, and operation of the plants without placing reactors on Italian territory.<ref name="nuclear"/>

In the early 1970s Italy was a major producer of [[pyrites]] (from the Tuscan [[Maremma]]), [[asbestos]] (from the [[Balangero]] mines), [[fluorite]] (found in [[Sicily]]), and salt. At the same time, it was self-sufficient in aluminium (from [[Gargano]]), [[sulfur|sulphur]] (from Sicily), lead, and [[zinc]] (from [[Sardinia]]).<ref name="nat_resources">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy/26994/Forestry#toc26986|title=Italy, the economy: Resources and power|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]|date=3 February 2015|access-date=9 February 2015|archive-date=9 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209194536/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/297474/Italy/26994/Forestry#toc26986|url-status=live}}</ref> By the beginning of the 1990s, however, it had lost all its world-ranking positions and was no longer self-sufficient in those resources. There are no substantial deposits of iron, coal, or oil. Italy is one of the world's leading producers of [[pumice]], [[pozzolana]], and [[feldspar]].<ref name="nat_resources"/> Another mineral resource for which Italy is well-known is [[marble]], especially the world-famous white [[Carrara marble]] from the [[Province of Massa and Carrara|Massa and Carrara]] quarries in [[Tuscany]].