Geothermal energy plant in Tuscany completely refurbished

The completely refurbished Rancia 2 geothermal plant in Tuscany, in the municipality of Radicondoli in the province of Siena, has entered service.

The plant, which has an installed capacity of 17 MW, will be able to generate about 150 million kilowatt hours of power, thus avoiding the emission of 100 thousand tonnes of CO2 and saving 33 thousand TOE (tonnes of oil equivalent) of fossil fuels per year.

The project, which is at the forefront of the geothermal power field, was carried out in compliance with the highest quality and safety standards developed over the course of a century of experience, making Enel Green Power the world leader in this field.

The work on the Rancia 2 plant will also include the construction of an AMIS facility, a patented Enel Group process to improve the environmental performance of the plant. The refurbishment project was developed by the in-house engineering resources of EGP, with construction being carried out using primarily local labour and firms.

“These works show our commitment to the continuous search for the improvement of the existing power fleet whereas, at the same time, we maintain our involvement in further increasing our generation capacity globally by putting new plants into operation” – Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel Green Power, commented.

The renovation of the Rancia 2 plant is part of EGP industrial plan for 2012-2016 which involves a package of some 500 million euros in EGP investment for geothermal plants development in Tuscany.

Work is currently in progress on the Rancia 1 and Le Prata plants, located respectively in the towns of Radicondoli (Siena) and Castelnuovo VC (Pisa), while the three Amiata-area geothermal plants, all located in the town of Piancastagnaio (Siena), are scheduled to enter service shortly, completely refurbished.

Enel Green Power is the Enel Group company fully dedicated to the development and management of renewable energy sources in Italy and throughout the world. The company generated 22.5 billion kWh in 2011 from water, sun, wind and the Earth’s heat – enough to meet the energy needs of more than 8 million households and avoid the emission of over 16 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Enel Green Power is a world leader thanks to its well-balanced generation mix, which includes all major renewable technologies. The Company has an installed capacity of nearly 7,100 MW from a mix of sources including wind energy, solar power, hydroelectric, geothermal energy and biomass. Currently, EGP has over 650 operational plants in 16 countries in Europe and the Americas.

www.enelgreenpower.com