Geothermal and biomass combine in Tuscany power plant

(AGI) Castelnuovo Val di Cecina, Pisa, May 6 - The "Cornia 2" power plant has opened in the town of Castelnuovo Val di Cecina, central Italy. It is the first plant in the world that integrates geothermal and biomass. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by the councillor for the environment of the region of Tuscany, Federica Fratoni, Mayor of Castelnuovo Val di Cecina Alberto Ferrini, the mayors of the municipalities of the traditional geothermal area, the director of Co.Svi.G, (Consortium for the Development of Geothermal areas) Sergio Chiacchella, Enel Green Power's head of operations and maintenance of geothermal power in Italy, Massimo Montemaggi and the Head of Territorial Affairs - Central Area at Enel Italia, Fabrizio Iaccarino. The plant, which was connected to the grid in July, uses biomass to superheat geothermal steam, increasing the energy efficiency and electrical output of the geothermal cycle. The existing plant has been joined by a small "short chain" virgin biomass-fired power station, from forest wood, produced in a radius of 70 km from the plant. There is a particular focus on the management and maintenance of the wooded areas. The biomass is used to superheat the steam entering the power station from a temperature of between 150C and 160C to between 370C and 380C. This increases the net power for electricity production due to greater enthalpy of the steam and to the performance of the cycle due to lower humidity in the production phase. Enel Green Power has invested more than 15 million euros in the plant. Its 5 MW power increases production capacity by more than 30 GWh per year and the total operation produces further CO2 savings of more than 13,000 tons annually. It also has a major impact on jobs, which including direct and indirect management for resource retrieval in the short supply chain process, total around 30 employees. Other benefits from the efficient use of agricultural and agro-industrial by-products include the optimal maintenance of forests and consequent prevention of hydrogeological risk, sustainable development of energy crops and the significant availability of cogeneration heat.