Bastardo: the tender procedure commences for the demolition of the power plant

{{item.title}}

On July 30, we officially informed the Municipality of Gualdo Cattaneo (near Perugia) that the tender procedure for the demolition of the Pietro Vannucci Thermoelectric Power Plant, which was officially decommissioned on January 1 2020, would commence by the end of August. The tenders will be awarded by the end of 2021 with work beginning during the course of 2022. 

The demolition process will be followed by a circular economy-focused upgrade of the site, offering further confirmation of the Group’s development strategies in action and its impressive vocation for energy conversion, sustainability and innovation.

In line with the principles and guidelines of Italy’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), the Umbria Region has made the work part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which was drawn up to help the Italian economy recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In this particular instance, the site will be converted into an innovative green hydrogen production plant in which hydrogen will be obtained from water using electrolyzers powered by electricity from renewable sources. It is an entirely sustainable solution in the context of the energy transition aimed at decarbonizing industrial sectors such as aviation, heavy maritime freight transportation, steelworks and refineries. 

“This marks the beginning of a pivotal phase for our area that will make the Municipality of Gualdo Cattaneo a key player in the productive, economic and environmental development of our Region. It is the result of the seamless synergic relationship between the Umbria Region, Enel and the current Municipal Administration,” said Gualdo Cattaneo’s mayor Enrico Valentini.

The plant will be part of an innovative hub that will also include a photovoltaic solar farm and specialist energy and sustainable mobility research laboratories. PRIMA (Polo Regionale dell’Idrogeno e della Mobilità Alternativa, the Regional Hub for Hydrogen and Alternative Mobility), as it will be known, was designed to meld energy goals with environmental and social sustainability objectives. It will have a major impact in terms of job creation and thus will act as development driver for the region, in addition to being a model of cutting-edge technology at a national level.