A prestigious appointment for Enel Green Power’s Head of Regulatory Affairs Africa, Asia and Australia: “Green hydrogen, community engagement and a just transition are some of the priorities”.
Silvia Piana, Enel Green Power’s Head of Regulatory Affairs Africa, Asia and Australia, has been elected one of the seven members of the Steering Group of the Coalition for Action created by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Her appointment was announced on January 25 at the annual Strategy Meeting of the coalition, a network of 115 private players active in the renewables sector.
A shared intent
“I am happy to take on this role because the purpose and vision of IRENA is 100% in line with the activities of Enel Green Power, decisively aimed towards the energy transition,” explains Silvia Piana. “There is a total alignment of interests, for example concerning hydrogen. On this front IRENA’s position is exactly the same as our Group’s, promoting only Green Hydrogen produced through electrolysis powered exclusively by renewables, because it is the only truly zero-emissions option.”
Green hydrogen, community engagement and a just transition
The Steering Group supervises all of the activities of the Coalition for Action, for example evaluating the addition of new members or issues worthy of being supported and developed through specific working groups. “In 2021, one these working groups will certainly focus on green hydrogen and another on community engagement, i.e. the involvement of local communities in the development of renewable energies, based on a strategy that is particularly dear to our Group,” adds Piana.
Another aspect that will see a perfect alignment between the Coalition for Action and Enel Green Power is “the Just Energy Transition, i.e. an energy transition towards decarbonization that is just, equitable, capable of addressing all economic and social strata and taking into account a multitude of needs, including the need to ensure a robust and flexible electricity system, capable of integrating a growing quantity of energy produced from renewable sources.
“My goal on the Steering Group will be to support opportunities and projects to develop renewable energies commensurate to the dimensions and ambitions of a global Group like ours”.
Silvia Piana, Enel Green Power’s Head of Regulatory Affairs Africa, Asia and Australia
Another potential working group, which has not yet been officially appointed, is set to focus on so-called “Agri PV”, a combination of innovative solutions that enables the coexistence on agricultural land of photovoltaic production and farming, based on techniques that take into account various aspects, from the rational use of water to the selection of the appropriate varieties of crops to cultivate.
A precious experience
Silvia Piana has enjoyed a long career at our Group, where she has worked for 20 years and served in various roles, in many cases linked to regulatory aspects. She joined Enel Green Power in 2014 to work on regulatory affairs in Africa, Asia and Australia.
In the past year she has also served in the CIMSSA (Competitor Intelligence Market Studies and Strategic Analysis) area of Global Power Generation, which “has enabled me to apply at global level what I follow at a more regional level in the field of regulatory affairs. In practice, this means defining benchmarks, based on the successes – or even the failures – of local regulatory initiatives for the development of renewable sources, in order to draw from them feedback and experiences that could be useful in other countries.”
This wealth of experience is sure to be extremely useful also on the Steering Group of IRENA’s Coalition for Action. “While it has a global set up, the Agency is mainly geared towards developing countries or those in an intermediary phase of expanding renewables. And in contexts like this, knowing how certain situations have been dealt with and resolved by us in other countries represents a wealth of knowledge that can be put to good use.”
