Geothermal power accounts for about 1.6-1.8% of the total electric energy production in Italy and is about 7% of the total renewable energy produced in 2010. The total energy from Geothermal was 5,660 GWh in 2015. Italy is the seventh country by geothermal installed capacity. Italy was the first country in the world to exploit geothermal energy to produce electricity. The high geothermal gradient that forms part of the peninsula makes potentially exploitable also other provinces: research carried out in the 1960s and 1970s identifies potential geothermal fields in

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, as well as in most volcanic islands. There are 33 active geothermal plants with a total capacity of 772 MW. All the plants are in Tuscany in the provinces of

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the ...

, Pisa and

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

. The province of Pisa alone contributes for more than half of the national production.

History

In the 20th century, demand for electricity led to the consideration of geothermal power as a generating source. Prince Piero Ginori Conti tested the first geothermal power generator on 4 July 1904 in

Larderello Larderello is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Pomarance, in Tuscany in central Italy, renowned for its geothermal productivity. Geography The region of Lardarello has experienced occasional phreatic eruptions, caused by explosive outburst ...

, in the province of Pisa. It successfully lit four light bulbs. Later, in 1911, the world's first commercial geothermal power plant was built there. Experimental generators were built in other countries in the 1920s, but Italy was the world's only industrial producer of geothermal electricity until 1958.

Current development

On 30 May 2012,

Enel Green Power Enel Green Power S.p.A. is an Italian multinational renewable energy corporation, headquartered in Rome. The company was formed as a subsidiary of the power generation firm Enel in December 2008. It is present with assets in operation or under ...

announced the entry into service of the completely new geothermal power station ''Rancia 2'' in the town of Radicondoli, in the

province of Siena The province of Siena ( it, provincia di Siena, link=no, ) is a province in Tuscany, Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena. Geography The province is divided into seven historical areas: * Alta Val d'Elsa * Chianti senese * The urban area o ...

. The plant, which has a net installed capacity of 17 MW, will be able to generate about 150 GWh per year. The remaking of the central Rancia 2 falls within the group business plan 2012-2016, which envisages an investment package of around 500 million euros for development of geothermal plants in Tuscany. While the update of ''Rancia 1'' and ''Le Prata'' (in the towns of Radicondoli ( SI) and

Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about 70 km southeast of Pisa. Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina borders the following mu ...

( PI) respectively) are in progress, the total renovation will also start soon for the three geothermal plants located in the town of

Piancastagnaio Piancastagnaio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. It is located on the Monte Amiata slopes. The main attractions include th ...

(SI). In 2013, Enel Green Power installed Gruppo Binario Bagnore3–1 MW. It was the first

binary cycle A binary cycle is a method for generating electrical power from geothermal resources and employs two separate fluid cycles, hence binary cycle. The primary cycle extracts the geothermal energy from the reservoir, and secondary cycle converts the ...

power plant in Italy.

History

Current development

See also

References

Further reading