Hydropower in Italy has plummeted this year thanks to a drought that has also prompted water restrictions and fears for agriculture, industry sources said on Friday.
Hydroelectric power plants, mostly located in the mountains in the north of the country, cover almost a fifth of Italy’s energy needs.
But the lack of rain is causing problems as Rome desperately tries to break free of its dependence on Russian gas because of the Ukraine war.
“From January to May 2022, hydroelectric power production fell by about 40 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2021,” a spokesman for Utilitalia, an association of water companies, told AFP.
“Hydropower production has been steadily declining since July 2021,” he said, blaming “severe water shortages, even at high levels.”
An industry source told AFP that while the situation is constantly changing, estimates for the first six months of 2022 indicate that nationwide hydroelectric power generation will be almost half that of 2021.
A small plant near Piacenza, southeast of Milan, was closed indefinitely on June 21 because the Po River that feeds it is too low, energy company Enel said.
“Given the current drought situation, other hydroelectric power plants are not operating at full capacity,” added a spokesman without giving further details.
The Po River is Italy’s largest freshwater reservoir. Much of it is used by farmers but is suffering the worst drought in 70 years.
Italy’s largest farming association, Coldiretti, said the drought was threatening over 30 percent of national agricultural production and half of the Po Valley’s livestock.
According to the ANSA news agency, water is being rationed in more than 200 communities in the north-western region of Piedmont.
Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda are both much lower than usual for this time of year, while further south the river Tiber, which runs through Rome, has also dropped in level.
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