Enel Green Power begins operation of new Bagnore 4 Geothermal energy plant

Enel Green Power has completed and connected to the grid its new geothermal power plant, Bagnore 4, located in the municipalities of Santa Fiora and Arcidosso, near Grosseto, in the Italian region of Tuscany.

Bagnore 4, designed to fit perfectly into the surrounding environment, joins the 20 MW Bagnore 3 plant. The new geothermal power station is composed of two 20 MW turbines, for a total installed capacity of 40 MW. The operating plant will be able to generate up to 310 million kWh of electricity per year, for a savings of 70 thousand TOE (tonnes of oil equivalent).

The construction of the new plant involved a total investment of around 120 million euros, partly financed with funds from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The project is in line with the growth targets set out in Enel Green Power’s 2014-2018 business plan, which calls for around 600 million euros of investment in geothermal power in Tuscany. For more than one year, 130 workers were employed in the construction of the facility and around 40 people will be involved, directly and indirectly, in operating the fully up and running Bagnore 4 plant.

Enel Green Power’s new plant was designed to meet the highest international standards and to employ the most environmentally friendly technology available. Bagnore 4 also boasts a sophisticated monitoring and remote diagnostics system to ensure high reliability and efficiency.

All the materials used in the construction were made in Italy. Enel Green Power is also working with local governments to provide training and the transfer of know-how in order to develop a local pool of highly-specialised entrepreneurs in the engineering and automation sectors in order to amplify the benefits to the surrounding area and expand indirect employment.

Enel Green Power is the Enel Group company fully dedicated to the development and management of renewable energy sources at the international level, with operations in Europe, the Americas and Africa. As of September 30th, 2014, the company generated over 30 billion kWh from water, sun, wind and the Earth’s heat – enough to meet the energy needs of more than 10 million households. Enel Green Power is a world leader in the sector thanks to its well-balanced generation mix, providing generation volumes well over the sector average. As of September 30th, 2014, the company has an installed capacity of approximately 9,500 MW from a mix of sources including wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal and biomass. The company has about 750 plants operating in 16 countries in Europe, the Americas and Africa.