Island facts
Giannutri is a small Italian island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Tuscany. It is the southernmost island of this archipelago. The island and its nearby marine areas fall under the Arcipelago Toscano National Park and marine sanctuary. Predominantly privately owned, certain sections belong to Italy’s Ministry of the Environment, participating in the Coastal Area Management Programme authorized by the Ministry.
Assessing renewable energy is a fundamental step towards the energy transition, as the island is heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Considering the low photovoltaic capacity per person, the investigation of possible new installations is necessary to the increase the sustainability of the islands. Furthermore, in parallel to the investigation of RES, grid stability also needs to be investigated to enable a gradual RES penetration of the electricity mix, but also to couple them efficiently with storage facility. Italian islands are facing a complex dilemma: the UE and Italian policies are pushing towards renewable energy, but at the same time every investment on renewable energy has been stopped due to a lack of authorisation at National or Regional Level.
Giannutri needs assistance to tackle this issue and solve this dilemma, also because they are beneficiary of the “Green Island” program of Next Generation UE program.
At the same time Giannutri is interested in the marine transport transition, with the support of Maregiglio S.r.l., one of the two shipping company servicing the island. The island aims at shifting marine transportation to green energy (hydrogen or bio-fuel ships), but the entire harbour logistics need an overhaul. For instance, there are currently no hydrogen distribution pipelines.
Please note that the island of Giannutri has jointly applied for the 30 for 2030 call with Giglio Island | Clean energy for EU islands (europa.eu).