The new geothermal power plant at Chiusdino, in the town of the same name in the province of Siena, begins operation. The plant, which has an installed capacity of 20 MW, will be able to generate more than 145 million kilowatt hours, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 55,000 households, and avoid the emission of 100,000 tonnes of CO2, as well as 32,000 TOE (tonnes of oil equivalent) in fossil fuel savings per year.
The project – which required a comprehensive environmental impact study to enable optimal landscaping – is at the forefront of geothermal power generation, adopting the most rigorous quality and safety standards developed in over a century of experience, making Enel Green Power the world leader in this field.
The Chiusdino plant, which will be completed with the drilling of five additional wells, joins the Radicondoli 2 facility, also located in the province of Siena, which started operation at the beginning of November.
Chiusdino has been developed by EGP’s in-house engineering staff and was largely built using local businesses and workers. The local authorities also played an important role in decisions on the environmental insertion of the plant, notably as regards its visual impact.
"With the start-up of Chiusdino and Radicondoli 2, our geothermal capacity in Tuscany rises to 728 MW, enough to meet the needs of 3 million households, all while protecting the environment", said Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel Green Power. "We are very proud of this achievement, which confirms the global leadership of Italy, with Enel Green Power, in all aspects, technological and otherwise, of this renewable energy sector."
With Radicondoli 2, in the province of Siena, the Tuscan geothermal centre of Enel’s renewables generation company, one of the largest in the world, continues its growth in harmony with the environment.
Once operating at full output, the plant will be able to produce more than 140 million kilowatt hours of electricity, equivalent to the consumption of 55,000 households, and avoid the emission of 200,000 tonnes of CO2, in addition to saving 55,000 TOE (tonnes of oil equivalent) of fossil fuels per year.
The project, approved in July last year and completed in just over a year, is a demonstration of the unparalleled know-how of Enel Green Power in the geothermal field, gained in over one hundred years of development and operation of this renewable energy resource.
The plant, which was implemented by Enel Green Power’s in-house engineering units, boasts innovative features that place the facility at the cutting edge of technological development in this category of power plant. The plant is also equipped with an innovative remote monitoring and diagnostics system that makes it possible to operate the unit remotely and prevent malfunctions from happening, all while meeting the highest environmental and landscape impact standards.
The project was developed in collaboration with the local authorities, who participated actively in the selection of the route for the steam pipeline, with a view to complying and harmonising with environmental and landscape restrictions.
The project also includes the drilling of three new wells and the deepening of an existing well, work that is still under way.
“This is a major step forward for the further growth of Italian geothermal capacity,” stated Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel Green Power. “As well as a confirmation of Italy’s technological leadership in this particular field of renewable energy”.
Enel Green Power is a publicly listed company and part of the Enel Group. It is dedicated to renewable energy with a presence in Europe, North America and Latin America. It is one of the global leaders in its industry with a total installed capacity of around 5,900 MW and more than 600 plants in operation in 16 countries. The company and its subsidiaries produced 21 billion kWh of energy from water, sun, wind power, geothermal and biomass in 2009.
