Wind lobby groups call for net metering

Italian wind energy association Associazione Nazionale Energia Del Vento (ANEV) has joined forces with renewable energy association Associazione Produttori Energia di Fonti Rinnovabili (APER) to ask the power and gas regulator to simplify the procedures for installing small wind and other renewable plants of up to 20 kW. "The problem is that, as far as the authorisation process is concerned, these smaller plants have been considered to be the same as larger ones," says ANEV's Simone Togni. "The person who wanted to put a mini-wind turbine outside their house still had to go through the whole process." The associations' joint request came as the electricity market regulator sought feedback on a proposal to allow small producers of renewable energy with plants of 20 kW or less to sell power back to the grid by offsetting consumption of power with their own generation through an on-site exchange. That proposal foresees that small producers would pay the difference between the amount of energy they consume and what they are able to feed into the system. Some small-scale photovoltaic installations are already benefiting from the system, which should be extended to other renewable sources.