EGP's Requalification of Sasso 2 Geothermal Plant in Tuscany Awarded

The Alto Adige Architectural Foundation acknowledged Enel Green Power’s requalification project for Sasso 2 geothermal plant in Sasso Pisano (Tuscany, Italy). An intervention that “combines the industrial generation of energy with touristic-excursionist and didactic development” and enhances integration with the territory and naturalistic beauty

“A lucid, sober project for an issue of great importance and high on the agenda”. These are the reasons for the award granted by the Alto Adige Architectural Foundation to Enel Green Power’s requalification project for the Sasso 2 site, that houses the geothermal plant at Sasso Pisano (Tuscany, Italy). A project that is capable of combining architecture and landscape by means of “a quiet strategy that regulates the existing plant and organises things from the visitors’ viewpoint”, allowing the latter to experience the many facets of geothermal power.

Integration with the territory, the enhancement of beautiful natural settings and touristic itineraries are the basic features of the project, which considers the infrastructural changes as an integral part of the territory. “The project’s declared objective of combining the industrial generation of energy with touristic-excursionist and didactic development is achieved by a clear and accurate identification of the elements that make up the project: areas of pertinence, accesses, fencing, walking and driving paths, lighting”.

The consideration for the environment shown by EGP’s geothermal powerresults in combined action taken in Tuscany, ranging from the requalification of the Sasso Pisano plant to partnerships with local governments for the enhancement of touristic itineraries and sites in the geothermal district and solutions aimed to use the energy from steam in agricultural and cheese production, and even in a local brewery. This portfolio of actions also includes the technological innovation that in 2015 led to the commissioning of the new HH300 geothermal drilling facility and to the completed implementation at all Tuscan plants of the Mercury and Hydrogen Sulphide Emissions Abatement (Amis) system, which practically zeroes the natural gases and metals associated with geothermal steam.

More than 100 millions over 10 years: this is the investment made by EGP to equip all its geothermal plants with Amis systems. Amis, a system designed and patented by Aldo Baldacci, at the time an Enel Group manager, has a very high abatement efficiency (exceeding 95%), has been especially conceived to reduce down to a minimum the typical smell of geothermal operations, that offer no threat to human health, in order to improve the quality of life of people living close to the power plants.