Italy energy profile
Italy — the birthplace of geothermal power, still leading globally
1911
World's first geothermal power plant, Larderello
~10%
Of world's geothermal electricity, still from Larderello
~2%
Share of Italy's own electricity from geothermal
74.8%
Energy import dependency — highest in the EU
Larderello — still running, still world-leading
A 115-year-old power station that's still expanding
Where geothermal power began:
The Larderello field in Tuscany hosted the world's first attempt to turn geothermal steam into electricity, lighting a small string of experimental bulbs in 1904 before commercial generation began in 1911 — decades before any other country attempted it. More than a century later, the same broad site now comprises 34 separate geothermal plants across 37 generating units, managed by Enel Green Power, with combined capacity reported between roughly 800 and 1,100 MW depending on how it's measured, producing about 6 TWh of electricity annually. That output alone accounts for an estimated 10% of the entire world's geothermal electricity generation — an extraordinary share for a single, century-old site.
The Larderello field in Tuscany hosted the world's first attempt to turn geothermal steam into electricity, lighting a small string of experimental bulbs in 1904 before commercial generation began in 1911 — decades before any other country attempted it. More than a century later, the same broad site now comprises 34 separate geothermal plants across 37 generating units, managed by Enel Green Power, with combined capacity reported between roughly 800 and 1,100 MW depending on how it's measured, producing about 6 TWh of electricity annually. That output alone accounts for an estimated 10% of the entire world's geothermal electricity generation — an extraordinary share for a single, century-old site.
Still being reinvested in:
Valle Secolo, the largest single unit at Larderello, built in the early 1990s at roughly 120 MW, is Europe's largest geothermal power plant. Far from treating the complex as a legacy asset, Enel announced a near-€3 billion investment in 2025 alongside a 20-year concession extension — while simultaneously divesting its international geothermal operations elsewhere, including assets in the United States, to concentrate entirely on Tuscany. The company has also begun applying AI to reduce operating costs at the plants and signed a 30-year supply agreement with steel manufacturer Tenaris to secure the specialised tubulars geothermal wells require, treating Larderello less as history and more as its flagship long-term geothermal asset.
Valle Secolo, the largest single unit at Larderello, built in the early 1990s at roughly 120 MW, is Europe's largest geothermal power plant. Far from treating the complex as a legacy asset, Enel announced a near-€3 billion investment in 2025 alongside a 20-year concession extension — while simultaneously divesting its international geothermal operations elsewhere, including assets in the United States, to concentrate entirely on Tuscany. The company has also begun applying AI to reduce operating costs at the plants and signed a 30-year supply agreement with steel manufacturer Tenaris to secure the specialised tubulars geothermal wells require, treating Larderello less as history and more as its flagship long-term geothermal asset.
A national paradox
World-leading geothermal technology, Europe's highest import dependency
Renewables growing fast, geothermal barely moving:
Italy's overall renewable story is a genuine success: the renewable share of gross electricity production rose from 25.5% in 2010 to roughly 44% by 2023, Italy hit its 2020 renewable targets six years early, and by 2025 installed renewable capacity reached approximately 74.5 GW — led by solar (37 GW) and hydropower (19.6 GW). Yet geothermal, despite being where the whole technology started, has barely grown: it remains under 1 GW installed nationally and supplies only about 2% of Italy's electricity, smaller than hydro, solar, or wind. Analysts including PwC Italia point to permitting complexity and regulatory fragmentation as a specific constraint on geothermal development that other renewables haven't faced to the same degree, only partly addressed by 2024's "Renewables Consolidated Act."
Italy's overall renewable story is a genuine success: the renewable share of gross electricity production rose from 25.5% in 2010 to roughly 44% by 2023, Italy hit its 2020 renewable targets six years early, and by 2025 installed renewable capacity reached approximately 74.5 GW — led by solar (37 GW) and hydropower (19.6 GW). Yet geothermal, despite being where the whole technology started, has barely grown: it remains under 1 GW installed nationally and supplies only about 2% of Italy's electricity, smaller than hydro, solar, or wind. Analysts including PwC Italia point to permitting complexity and regulatory fragmentation as a specific constraint on geothermal development that other renewables haven't faced to the same degree, only partly addressed by 2024's "Renewables Consolidated Act."
The import dependency that renewables haven't fixed yet:
Despite that renewable growth, Italy carries the highest energy import dependency in the European Union, at roughly 74.8% — well above the EU average and far above France's approximately 44.8%, where nuclear power plays a large role in reducing import reliance. Italy has no operating nuclear power plants as of 2026, following a 1987 referendum decision to phase out nuclear power after Chernobyl. That combination — strong renewable electricity growth alongside continued heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels for the energy system as a whole — reflects how much of Italy's total energy demand (transport, heating, industry) still runs on imported oil and gas even as its electricity sector decarbonises.
Despite that renewable growth, Italy carries the highest energy import dependency in the European Union, at roughly 74.8% — well above the EU average and far above France's approximately 44.8%, where nuclear power plays a large role in reducing import reliance. Italy has no operating nuclear power plants as of 2026, following a 1987 referendum decision to phase out nuclear power after Chernobyl. That combination — strong renewable electricity growth alongside continued heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels for the energy system as a whole — reflects how much of Italy's total energy demand (transport, heating, industry) still runs on imported oil and gas even as its electricity sector decarbonises.
Questions
Questions about Italian energy
Why hasn't Italy built more geothermal plants elsewhere, given how successful Larderello has been?
The short answer is that Larderello isn't just old — it sits on genuinely unusual geology that most of Italy doesn't share. Larderello's steam-dominated geothermal field is a rare resource type, formed by a specific combination of shallow magma intrusions and fractured rock that lets steam (rather than just hot water) rise close enough to the surface to drive turbines directly, without needing the more complex and expensive binary-cycle technology many other geothermal sites require. Very few places on Earth have this exact geological setup, which is part of why Larderello became the birthplace of geothermal power in the first place and why Enel has kept investing there for over a century rather than needing to look elsewhere in Italy. Beyond geology, PwC Italia and other analysts point to a genuinely fragmented, complex permitting system as a specific barrier that has slowed geothermal expansion even where geology might support it — Italy's 2024 "Renewables Consolidated Act" was a direct response to this, aiming to simplify authorisation processes, but analysts note meaningful geothermal growth will also require targeted incentive policies and risk-mitigation measures that go beyond permitting reform alone. In short: Italy isn't failing to replicate Larderello elsewhere so much as Larderello itself is a genuinely rare geological gift that's hard to find a second copy of, compounded by bureaucratic friction that has kept even that unique resource from expanding as fast as solar or wind. Source: PwC Italia (Italian geothermal energy: state of the art and next prospects) · Enel Green Power.
Provenance
Attribution and citation
- Sources
- PwC Italia (Italian geothermal energy: state of the art and next prospects) · Enel Green Power · World-Energy · EnkiAI (Enel's Geothermal Pivot: 2025 Strategy) · Wikipedia (Renewable energy in Italy) · Terna · GSE (Gestore dei Servizi Energetici) Statistical Report
- Cite as
- "Italy Energy Profile — Complete Reference", The Energy Codex, https://thecodex.expert/energy/countries/italy/, last updated .