Regional situation

Lombardy Region is situated in the heart of Europe and is at the crossroads between the major east – west communication routes (between the Iberian peninsular and the Balkans) and the North – South routes (between continental Europe and the Mediterranean). The territory extend over a total surface area of 23,863 sq. km: Lombardy is the fourth largest region in Italy by extension, with a territory that is 47% flat plains, 40% mountainous and the remaining 13% are hills.

Having a population of around 9.5 million inhabitants (on 60 millions total in Italy), is the most populated.

Regional capital is Milano, major towns are Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Lecco, Lodi, Mantova, Pavia, Sondrio and Varese.

Table1: Lombardia – key indicators (ISTAT 2006)

Table2: Lombardia – Land use (2003)

The gross energy consumption in Lombardy in 2004 is about 26 Mtoe; only 8% of witch comes from inland energy resources, mainly hydro electricity, wastes and biomasses.

Table 3: (Regione Lombardia Energy Action Plan, 2004)

The most energy-consuming sector is residential and commercial (about 10 Mtoe); then industry (8 Mtoe), transport (7 Mtoe) and agriculture (0,4 Mtoe).

Most relevant related projects / initiatives

In June 2007 Lombardy Region has adopted its Energy Action Plan that define the general strategy and the actions list to meet Kyoto protocol objective on regional base, and EU directives on renewable and on energy savings. Biomass production is one of key point to reach these ambitious aim. To help decision making and to monitor the plan execution effectiveness, an innovative web application tool has been developed and published on the web: SIRENA – regional information system on energy and environment (www.ors.regione.lombardia.it/sirena/index.jsp). In the public area the web navigator can evaluate and monitor the regional energy flows and their environmental impact above all on the air quality.