Rome - Turin, December 21st, 2010 Work has begun on the construction of the Strambino photovoltaic plant, the result of the agreement signed a few months ago by the CEO of Enel Green Power, Francesco Starace, and the Chairman of Finpiemonte Partecipazioni, Paolo Marchioni, for the development of renewable resources in Piedmont.
With an installed capacity of 2.5 MW, the Strambino facility will be able to produce about 3 million kilowatt hours annually, enough to meet the needs of 1,100 households and avoid the emission of two thousand tonnes of CO2.
The plant, which will be built with polycrystalline silicon solar panels, is expected to become operational by January 2011.
Developing the project is the new Enel Green Power company Strambino Solar, 60% owned by Enel Green Power the Enel Group company dedicated to the development and management of renewable energy resources in Italy and around the world and 40% owned by Finpiemonte Partecipazioni, a company controlled by the Region of Piedmont, which is active in the field of renewable energy and reducing atmospheric emissions which through its own subsidiaries possesses over 600 thousand square metres on which further joint photovoltaic initiatives can be developed.
"Investments in the photovoltaic sector in marginal areas", says Paolo Marchioni, Chairman of Finpiemonte Partecipazioni, "will continue to be among the main objectives we will be pursuing in the future. At the same time, however, we will also launch new development initiatives involving mini-hydro power, leveraging the potential that Piedmont has to offer in this field."
"We believe in the development of distributed photovoltaic generation", added Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel Green Power, "especially in a country like Italy, which can count on a great availability of resources. We hope that this initiative is the first of a series in Piedmont, yielding increasing energy output from renewable sources, with obvious benefits in terms of the environment and energy security."
Enel Green Power is the Enel Group company dedicated to the development and management of power generation from renewable resources in Italy and around the world. It is the sector's world leader thanks to some 21 billion kilowatt hours generated from water, sun, wind and geothermal, meeting the consumption requirements of some 8 million households each year and avoiding about 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The company has an installed capacity of about 5,900 MW, with over 600 facilities around the world and a generation mix that includes wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass.
Finpiemonte Partecipazioni is a public-private corporation, with the Region of Piedmont its majority shareholder. It operates in the fields of logistics, renewable energy and the development of Piedmont. More specifically, the activity of Finpiemonte Partecipazioni in renewable energy sector is focused on reducing atmospheric emissions through the development of photovoltaics, biogas cogeneration, district heating and hydro power.