Confartigianato ‘fa scuola’ on the energy and digital transition

The boom in artificial intelligence will trigger a surge in global electricity consumption. Between 2025 and 2030, the additional demand for energy in China, the United States and the European Union will reach the staggering figure of 3,312 TWh (terawatt-hours), and 398 TWh of this increase will be absorbed exclusively by data centres.

According to a survey by Confartigianato based on data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the phenomenon takes different forms in different parts of the world. In the United States, the digital drive will be overwhelming: almost half of the increase in electricity demand by 2030 – 203 TWh out of a total of 427 – will be used to power data centres, far exceeding the growth in electricity consumption of the manufacturing and transport sectors combined. In China, where overall electricity demand is set to rise by as much as 2,590 TWh, industry will be the driving force, although data centres will account for an additional 160 TWh. In the European Union, by contrast, the increase will be driven primarily by the electrification of transport, with data centres nonetheless accounting for 11.7 per cent of the total rise in electricity demand, amounting to 35 TWh.

The intersection of the energy and digital transitions is one of the key themes at the 22nd annual “Energies and Sustainability Confartigianato High School” conference, which will bring together around 400 executives and the national leadership of Confartigianato and its energy consortia (Caem, CEnPI and Multienergia) in Domus de Maria, in the province of Cagliari, from 21 to 23 September.

The three-day event will provide a platform for high-level discussion. The proceedings, opened by Marco Granelli, President of Confartigianato, will feature a speech by Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister for the Environment and Energy Security. The programme will provide a comprehensive analysis of geopolitical, technological and ethical transformations, as well as the challenges facing businesses, thanks to contributions from experts, institutional representatives, academics, journalists and public communicators, including Pier Ferdinando Casini, Luigi Di Maio, Paolo Gentiloni, the Chief Executive of GSE, Vinicio Mosè Vigilante, and Vittorio Emanuele Parsi. There will also be a focus on practical grassroots energy supply models, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and renewable energy communities, as well as the relationship between sustainability, legality and ethics, with Paolo Foglizzo, the Ministry’s adviser for the Service for Integral Human Development, and the writer Roberto Saviano.

The operational backbone of the event is provided by the expertise of the three Energy Consortia. Active throughout Italy for over twenty years, in 2025 they facilitated the purchase of electricity and gas at the best market price for 74,451 customers – comprising both businesses and individuals – spread across 130,813 supply points (compared to 11,801 in 2012). The total electricity consumption ‘managed’ by the Consortia in 2025 amounted to 897.3 million kWh, whilst natural gas consumption stood at 77.4 million cubic metres. Furthermore, last year, the supply of electricity and gas resulted in a reduction of 150,525 tonnes of CO₂ thanks to the purchase of ‘renewable energy certified at source’.

The “Energies and Sustainability Confartigianato High School” convention, which can be followed via live stream on the confartigianato.it portal, will be followed by Energy and Sustainability Week, scheduled for 19–24 October, featuring initiatives across Italy aimed at citizens, businesses and institutions, with an opening event due to take place in Milan on 12 October.