Eni, GSE building 26-MWp PV farm at industrial site in Italy

Italian oil and gas major Eni SpA (BIT:ENI) and partner Gestore dei Servizi Energetici GSE SpA on Tuesday presented a 26-MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) plant they are building within an industrial area in Cagliari province, Sardinia.

The plant at Saline Conti Vecchi in the Assemini hub is the result of a partnership between the two companies that was agreed a year ago. This so-called Progetto Italia envisages implementing technologies for energy production using renewable sources in disused industrial areas, especially in the southern part of the country.

"With Progetto Italia we want to bring new life to Syndial industrial areas that already underwent remediation and can host large-scale renewable energy plants. The EUR 260 million [USD 303m] investment will produce about 0.4 TWh/year of electricity from renewable sources in Italy," said Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi.

The solar park at Saline Conti Vecchi alone will generate about 42 GWh a year, Descalzi noted. Its output will be used to power the Conti Vecchi salt fields within the same industrial area, covering about 70% of total energy consumption.

Eni believes that the Assemini hub is suited for the development of renewable energy technologies. It will turn the site into a laboratory for technological development in the environmental and energy field, with plans to add concentrated solar power (CSP) systems developed by the Milan Polytechnic and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.164)

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