INDUSTRY OPERATORS, ANCI AND LEGAMBIENTE SIGN CHARTER FOR SUSTAINABLE WIND POWER RENEWAL

A roadmap for the renewal of Italian wind power resources was launched in Rimini by E2i, Enel Green Power, ERG Renew, Falck Renewables, IVPC, Legambiente and ANCI.
The goal is to increase the generation of renewable energy through the upgrading of plants while keeping in mind their integration with the landscape, reducing the impact on the territory through fewer wind turbines.

Rimini, November 3rd, 2015 – E2i, Enel Green Power, ERG Renew, Falck Renewables and IVPC, together with Legambiente and ANCI, today signed the Charter for Sustainable Wind Power Renewal. The goal of the document is to specify operational rules, application criteria, standards, procedures and best practices that will ensure the effectiveness and transparency of projects for the renewal of Italy’s existing wind power park in order to create a sustainability roadmap.

In Italy, some 2,000 MW of installed wind capacity is more than 10 years old and need to be upgraded. These plants are usually located in areas with particularly abundant wind resources, or "windy towns" as they are called by Italian energy research organisation RSE (Ricerca Sistema Energetico), but are now out of date and are operating at less than full efficiency. The largest industry players, together with Italian environmental association Legambiente and ANCI (the Italian Association of Municipalities), believe that Italy, which is engaged in fighting climate change at the European level, has every interest in ensuring that these areas continue to generate electricity from renewable resources. For the signatories of the Charter, the renewal of plants will improve their integration into the environment and the landscape, enabling greater enjoyment and appreciation of those “windy towns” and regions that are often cultural and tourist destinations as well as being agricultural areas.

Through the upgrading of the plants and the use of modern technology, it is possible to reduce the number of wind turbines and generate more “green” electricity without reducing installed capacity, while offering the electricity network more technical flexibility.

The Charter is founded on four key principles: the protection and making the most of natural resources in existing sites; the optimal use of each territory’s resources, maximising the use of existing infrastructure; the containment and mitigation of environmental impacts at each stage of the process; and continuity and transparency in the relationship with the area, institutions and local communities.

The Charter for Sustainable Wind Power Renewal is a document open to all industry operators who want to commit to and participate with concrete proposals and suggestions, in order to make these initiatives not only feasible industrial projects, but also examples of sustainable growth.

 
The operators involved:

E2i
E2i is the third largest operator of renewable energy in Italy with an installed capacity of approximate 600 MW and a production of 1.1 TWh in 2014. E2i is the result of a merger in 2014 between the plants of Edison Energie Speciali (EDENS) and EDF Energies Nouvelles, with the participation of F2i fund. E2i boasts 46 wind farms and three photovoltaic plants.

Enel Green Power
Enel Green Power is the Enel Group Company fully dedicated to the international development and management of renewable energy sources, with operations in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. With a generation capacity that corresponds to approximately 32 billion kWh in 2014 from water, sun, wind and the Earth’s heat – enough to meet the energy needs of more than 11 million households – Enel Green Power is a world leader in the sector thanks to its well-balanced generation mix that provides generation volumes well over the sector average. The company has an installed capacity of more than 10,000 MW from a mix of sources including wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and biomass. The company has about 740 plants operating in 17 countries.

ERG Renew
ERG Renew operates in the sector of electricity generation from wind power via 1.7 GW of installed capacity and is the Italian sector's leading operator and one of the top 10 in Europe. The wind farms are concentrated above all in Italy (1,087 MW), with a significant presence in France, Germany and Poland, as well as in Bulgaria and Romania. Through ERG Renew O&M the company manages the maintenance activities of its wind energy facilities.

Falck Renewables S.p.A.
Falck Renewables S.p.A. is the Falck Group company (listed on the Stock Exchange in the STAR segment) active in Europe with installed capacity of roughly 762 MW, which develops, designs, builds and manages renewable source power production plants. Its mission is to contribute to meeting the energy needs of the population, in accordance with a specific integrated business plan based on the differentiation of production technologies and geographical areas. Thanks to this strategy, the company is flexible in allocating investments, with the aim of mitigating risks and seizing market opportunities.

IVPC Group
The IVPC Group, founded in 1993, has developed, financed and built, at today, 1.035 MW of wind power plants consisting in 1.171 wind turbines over seven Italian regions. The IVPC Group currently holds about 300 MW and is a leader, as an independent company in Italy, in the Service (O&M) to third parties where it operates and maintains 800 MW of wind farms and photovoltaic power plants as well as 18 electric substations.
  
    

Microsoft Word - EGP carta rinnovamento eolico sostenibile ENG

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