Abstract

The international targets for environmental sustainability require to address the investments of the energy sector towards renewable energy sources. This process of technology substitution could be a dramatic opportunity of growth for the Italian industrial sector, if managed with a focused and coherent approach. The Italian SME have a good tradition in facing new technological challenges. The international market for renewable energy technologies is growing very fast, giving unprecedented market development to successful enterprises. The paper shows the size of the expected market and identifies some barriers to the consolidation of new industrial sectors. It is given a look to the adopted policies to show how inefficient administrative procedures in this sector can become a cost for the whole Italian economy.