The Giro dell’Acqua: a day dedicated to sports, nature and sustainability

A “Giro dell’Acqua” helicopter trip for a bird’s-eye view of the breathtaking landscapes surrounding the Barbellino and Valmorta dams in Lombardy and a chance to learn more about a renewable source that is key to the energy transition: hydroelectric power. Taking center stage on this expedition were three content creators who are passionate about cycling: Marco Aurelio Fontana, Elisa Scarlatta and Omar Martinello. The event was organized in the context of the Giro di Lombardia 2022, held on October 8, and the Gran Fondo Il Lombardia amateur race on the following day, in which the three content creators took part along with some of our colleagues from Enel Green Power, including our CEO, Salvatore Bernabei, and the Head of O&M Hydro Italy, Isidro Pescador. We wanted to invite these three young influencers, who are passionate about nature and sports, into our world: the world of sustainable energy generation. “These three content creators can undoubtedly help a company like Enel Green Power, which already has a vast window onto the world, to get our message out there – to spread our values and our company’s commitment to sustainability and respect for the environment,” explains Enel Green Power’s Head of Communications, Antonella Santilli, adding, “Meeting them and listening to them also helps us to be a little less self-referential.” The day unfolded with selfies, reels, stories and lots of real-time online communication by our guests: a very contemporary way to share every moment and discovery as it’s happening, in the heart of Italy’s hydroelectric generation. Cycling and renewables, a perfect combination for sustainability “Bicycles make it possible to travel and explore the world in a clean way, just like hydroelectric power makes it possible to produce clean energy from water. If we also manage to be sustainable by doing both, then we can find the perfect combination to make the world a little better,” comments Omar Martinello from above Barbellino Dam, at an altitude of 1,868 meters. Omar’s YouTube channel is followed by 75,700 people. Nature, as Elisa Scarlatta explains to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, was the central feature of the day. “Flying overhead, I could see even more of nature’s beauty, its immensity. I really loved it, just like every time I go out on my bike.” Hydroelectric is really cool, comments our third guest, cyclist Marco Aurelio Fontana, who has more than 80,000 followers on Instagram: “I learned that a dam is Mother Nature’s enormous rechargeable battery!” Dossi, where the magic happens From above we watched as the water courses made their way to the point where they’re transformed into energy: the Dossi power plant, which has an operating capacity of 43.4MW. Located in the municipality of Valbondione, in the province of Bergamo, the plant was built in 1923 along with a complex high-altitude hydraulic system. That same year, the Valmorta Dam was completed, and the Barbellino dam followed in 1931. This year’s particularly dry summer brought droughts to Italy and across Europe. In the month of July, the Barbellino Malga, a small shepherd’s hut that was submerged beneath the waters of the lake when the dam was first built, became visible once again due to the low water level. “The big difficulties occurred in the summer, when farming activities create a high demand for water resources,” explains Maya Bellarmino, Head of the Bergamo Territorial Unit of EGP, at the Dossi power plant. “We worked with technical groups and coordinated with the regional administration to ensure that the available resources matched the needs of the local area further downstream. Since then we’ve had some rain, so the lakes, despite being lower than usual, have some water in reserve. Hydroelectric production has to follow this availability as well as the needs of energy production itself.” Our sustainable approach One of the things that struck the content creators the most was our relationship with the local area: with nature, with people and the care we take of the environment. “Without that, this energy would just be renewable, but not sustainable,” concludes Omar Martinello. And that’s exactly right, it’s what’s at the heart of our Creating Shared Value (CSV) model which, applied to our plants, is transformed into the Sustainable Plant Model. “We listen to people in the local area, we understand their needs and we adopt practices that bring results in terms of operational efficiency and improving the environmental and social performance of the plant,” explains EGP’s Head of CSV and Sustainability projects, Carlo Ferrara. “In particular, we’ve realized that hydroelectric has enormous potential in terms of tourism and we’re testing a model that combines our power plants with sustainable tourism, a niche form of tourism that respects the environment. We strongly believe that our assets can drive the development of tourism in the areas where we’re present and that’s why we’re supporting initiatives oriented towards sports tourism and respect for the environment.” In the spirit of putting these concepts into practice, the Giro dell’Acqua concluded on two wheels with a 30-km bike ride for our colleagues and the content creators, along a cycle path that begins at the Dossi power plant and arrives in the municipality of Clusone.

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The Giro dell’Acqua: a day dedicated to sports, nature and sustainability

The Giro dell’Acqua: a day dedicated to sports, nature and sustainability

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