Cities will be increasingly significant for environmental protection. More than 50% of the world’s population already lives in them, and this percentage will rise to 70% within 30 years. Therefore, they will growingly become the main centres of consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
For this reason the European Union launched the Smart Cities project, based on four essential pillars:
- smart grids, or intelligent networks. The first step consists in electronic meters, which are already being installed across Europe. Enel is a global leader in this field
- renewable sources and their grid-injection, also possible thanks to new electricity storage systems
- efficient buildings, with the direct and indirect participation of municipal administrations
- electric mobility, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transportation.
Enel is already involved in all these sectors, not only regarding aspects closely related to electricity production and distribution. Indeed, it has launched several initiatives to promote efficient buildings and electric vehicles.
As explained by Anna Brogi, Head of Quality, Safety and Environment with Enel, within the Smart Cities projects, “the Group entered in partnerships with a number of important Italian cities, Genoa, Bari and Turin”. Moreover, the Group’s commitment as regards smart cities is not limited to Italy, since different projects have also been launched in Malaga, Spain and Bouzios, Brazil.
According to Livio Gallo, director of Enel’s Infrastructure and networks division, these forward-looking initiatives “in the long term, aim at achieving sustainable development targets”.
