Coghinas, female singular

Coghinas, female singular

{{item.title}}

Young. Engineer. Sardinian. And now also head of the Coghinas hydroelectric plant, a record-breaking complex in the history of Italy’s energy and of the Nuraghi island. Anna Bassu, born in 1989, is not simply the first woman at the head of an Enel Hydro plant, but truly represents a revolution for her homeland.

After she studied Energy and Nuclear Engineering at the Polytechnic of Turin, and then in 2014 joined Enel to attend safety and environmental care in Sondrio, her recent appointment seems like the closing of a circle of fate. This was actually a watershed for the company itself in Sardinia: the challenges ahead regarding the plant on Lake Coghinas, about halfway between Sassari and Olbia, are linked to the comprehensive refurbishment applied to the plant in December by Enel’s Business Hydro Sardinia with the support of the O&M Hydro supply chain units.

At the end of the six-month long restoration, the plant still proved capable of producing 70,000 thousand megawatts a year for a catchment area of ​​25,000 households, with a carbon dioxide emission reduction rate of about 45,000 kilograms.

 

“Being the first woman in charge of an Enel Hydro plant makes me feel very proud, but also means shouldering a great responsibility: the Coghinas facility has all it takes to achieve other essential steps in view of its 100 years of service in Italy”
– Anna Bassu, Head of Enel’s Plants Unit Coghinas

 

Young forces at an ancient site

The first objective of the Bassu management consists in consolidating the relationship with the plant’s old working group, but also in enhancing the young people who - like her - have embarked on a path of apprenticeship in Enel and now are getting ready to be in service. Nothing new for the company, which considers the employment of young people as a key resource for the innovative development of its plants. However, the most interesting novelty regards the approach and direction that a woman will give to activities at the Coghinas plant.

 

“I think that a woman’s vision, applied to the management of a major plant like Coghinas, could make its activities even more dynamic, thanks to a natural attitude for multi-tasking and a strong teamwork spirit”
– Anna Bassu, Head of Enel’s Plants Unit Coghinas

 

The willingness to work closely with the local institutions certainly falls within the priorities for the future.

For Anna, the Coghinas dam and plant are a symbol of Sardinia. A potential tourist attraction where visitors can become familiar with the island’s energy history and its rich natural environment, a resource protected by Enel with specific safeguard programmes , as well as by opening up the site to the public and the involvement of the inhabitants of the neighbouring municipality of Oschiri, also thanks to a school and work alternation project.

 

“I have always been fascinated by the energy world, by ​​being able to study innovative solutions to reduce consumption and improve the efficiency of energy processes, as well as the desire to discover new places. The Coghinas plant finally offers me a highly competitive field in which to test my skills”
– Anna Bassu, Head of Enel’s Plants Unit Coghinas

 

International culture at the service of her area

Another added value of the new course followed by the Sardinian complex field is Anna Bassu’s international education, when she studied with young people from around the world at the Einaudi College and the Turin Polytechnic. A precious opportunity to open up new horizons and seize future market directions, strengthened in the years after her degree by further research experience in a university setting and an international Master (originated from a collaboration between Enel Green Power and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa).
The time has come for Coghinas to regain its central role. Thanks to a woman.