Geothermal: efficiency and environment

06/26/2012

The refurbishing of the Rancia2 plant is part of a package of investments worth 500 million euros for geothermal development in Tuscany and includes the construction of the new AMIS equipment

“The Rancia 2 plant has been refurbished so that it will become a best practice in terms of efficiency and environmental impact”: the latter was stated by Roberto Parri, Head of Operation of Enel Green Power’s geothermal plants.

Indeed, Rancia 2 has been refurbished based on the most innovative efficiency and emission reduction standards, also including the construction of the new AMIS equipment to abate hydrogen sulfide emissions.

The 17 MW facility will produce about 150 million of kWh, thus saving 100,000 tonnes of CO2, also saving 33 mila TEP (tonnes of oil equivalent) of fossil fuels per year.

The renovation is part of an investment plan worth 500 million euros for geothermal in Tuscany. “In this region”, Parri explained, “we operate in three provinces: Siena, Pisa and Grosseto, where our production exceeds the electricity needs of its inhabitants. Enel Green Power’s geothermal plants presently meet 25% of the electricity demand of the entire region of Tuscany.”

After Rancia 2, EGP’s 2012 – 2016 business plan includes works at the Rancia 1 and Le Prata plants, in Radicondoli (Siena) and Castelnuovo Val di Cecina (Pisa), while soon the company will start the total renovation of three geothermal plants in the municipality of Piancastagnaio (Siena), with a total capacity of 100 MW.

Harnessing geothermal energy is one of the fields in which the Enel Group is un undisputed global leader, thanks to a long experience in plant production and management (starting from the historic Larderello site in Tuscany), and in exploring new geothermal sites, like in Turkey and in Chile. It is also enhancing technologies that can harness this source more efficiently and effectively, especially regarding low-enthalpy sources.