Thirty sites in Italy for the production of solar energy for a total power of 60MW, 14 research permits for the exploitation of geothermal resources, a plant in Emilia Romagna is ready to start producing energy from biomasses. There is a renewable energy champion growing in Arezzo that aims to exceed, within the next three years, 240 MWh of total energy produced in the four sectors of green energy: solar power, geothermal, biomasses and wind. Graziella Green Power is a group born in 2010 (during the boom of Italy’s clean energy sector, underdeveloped until that time) that has increased its solar power business while laying the foundations, in terms of research and partnerships, to differentiate the sources of energy production and profits in the 2014-16 period: as of 2013, the investments exceed 100 million Euros and, according to the programs announced by the Arezzo-based company, the approximately 115 million to be invested in the next three years will be geared primarily towards the development of the geothermal, wind and bioenergy sectors.
The wager on solar power led to the installation of approximately 240,000 solar power systems throughout the national territory, which produce enough power to satisfy the demand of 35,000 families. Although the majority of the Graziella Green solar panel stations are spread throughout Tuscany and Umbria, its flagship is the new Ottana station, in Sardinia, that opened a few weeks ago: approximately 24,000 kWh of produced energy from 103,000 panels distributed over 17.5 hectares, making it Sardinia’s largest photovoltaic installation. The 2016 estimates, for solar power, predict that the company will be able to reach 80MW of generated power.
The business plan in which Graziella Green is active through its control in ToscoGeo, is ambitious. The company holds 14 research permits for the exploitation of medium enthalpy [heat content] geothermal resources, and it presence is distributed among Tuscany (Monte Amiata), Lazio (in the province of Viterbo), in Sardinia (in the provinces of Oristano and Medio Campidano) and in Umbria (Terni). The goal is to create binary geothermal stations and to reach, in the 2015-16 period, 10MW of generated power. Graziella Green purchased majority stock in Magma Energy Italia, previously controlled by the Canadian Alterra Power group, which has great experience in the geothermal sector, and has allied itself with a number of Italian energy companies creating the Rete Geotermica network, with the goal of uniting the research, design and installation capabilities in the sector of energy produced underground.
This year saw the debut of the bioenergy department. The activation of the plant in Correggio, in Emilia Romagna, for the production of energy through the “pyrogasification” process is now in sight: the group already has authorization for other plants in central Italy and estimates it will be able to produce 6MW in 2015. The important year for wind power will be 2014: Graziella Green has 25 authorization to exploit wind energy in areas located in Sardinia and Calabria: the goal is to install at least 50 wind turbines by the end of 2015 to be able to generate 3MW.