Italy’s attempt to drive growth in its renewables sector has given rise to a new line of business for the Mafia, and the government is trying to crack down, according to a fascinating report in The Washington Post.

Italy, along with many other countries in Europe, has been ramping up the development of renewable energy over the last few years, partly in response to targets set by the European Union. In 2011, Italy led growth in solar power and was second only to Germany in total installed solar capacity. (See quiz: “What You Don’t Know About Solar Power.”)

But that growth offered little price relief to Italy’s electricity consumers and sparked a battle with competing oil-