From electricity power station to innovative logistics hub. This is how Enel Produzione has given a new lease of life to the area around the Carpi plant, in the town’s Fossoli district. Today, a covered structure measuring 20,000 square metres with external storage areas has taken the place of turbines and tanks, and it’s ready to host one of the Enel Group’s two logistics hubs in Northern Italy.
The process of reclaiming the site has taken just two years and is part of the Futur-e programme which was launched by the Enel Group to regenerate 23 decommissioned power stations and a former mining area in Italy.
The completion of the reconversion process was announced on 14 March in the Sala del Consiglio Comunale (Town Council Hall) in Carpi by Luca Solfaroli Camillocci, Head of Enel Produzione, and Marco Fragale, Head of Futur-e, in the presence of Carpi’s Mayor, Alberto Bellelli.
Sustainability, circular economy and dialogue with the local area were the key elements guiding the entire site reconversion process. Approximately 3,700 tonnes of metallic material, plus copper and aluminium, were recovered through selective demolition, while 7,000 tonnes of cement pieces were reused on site, thereby transforming waste products into new resources. The sustainable solutions incorporated into the new logistics hub include systems to recover and manage rainwater, the use of LED technology for all site lighting and electric, emission-free forklifts and lift trucks for all internal mobility needs.
The power station, which went into service at the end of 1980, played its part in guaranteeing the security of the national electricity grid. In later years, the changing needs of the energy industry led to a progressive decline in its use and it was decommissioned in 2013. In 2017, the regeneration process, which has now reached completion, began.
Find out more on Futur-e, the Carpi model.