Italy is the country where geothermal energy has been exploited for the first time for industrial purposes and is currently one of the main producers of geothermal electricity in the world.
More than 100 years have passed since 4 July 1904, when in Tuscany, precisely at Larderello, five light bulbs were lighted thanks to the conversion of the steam power stored in the Earth into electricity.
The story of geothermal energy is a source of pride for Italy’s energy industry and a jewel in the crown of Enel Green Power, which today controls 34 geothermal electricity plants in Val di Cecina and on Mt. Amiata (Tuscany), with more than 8,700 remote heating units, geothermal heat for 25 hectares of greenhouses and a production of electricity for over 5 billions of kWh per year, corresponding to an average consumption of 2 million households in Italy.
Further development of geothermal energy in Italy represents a major objective of the strategy adopted by Enel Green Power, which is also committed to implementing new initiatives to strengthen its role abroad as the world’s undisputed leader in the geothermal energy sector.
Worth mentioning is the company’s activity in the United States, where Enel Green Power manages 47 MW and is developing new projects for nearly 150 MW. The two plants at Stillwater and Salt Wells use one of the most advanced binary cycle technologies with average enthalpy currently available. Several investment programmes are also underway in numerous countries in central and southern America. In Chile, for example, we are exploring two concessions for a potential of over 100 MW.
