Eni New Energy, a subsidiary company of Eni, has started construction of a 31MW photovoltaic plant at the Porto Torres industrial site located in Sassari in Sardinia.
Image: Eni begins construction of 31MW PV plant in Porto Torres. Photo: Courtesy of Mariana Proença on Unsplash.
To be installed in Porto Torres, Eni has received the authorization for the construction and operation of project from the region of Sardinia.
Eni’s owned company Syndial, which provides environmental remediation projects, is redeveloping the industrial area as part of a broader environmental reclamation project.
The company said that about 70% of the energy produced every year by the facility, approximately 51GWh, is used by the companies operating at the industrial site, reducing approximately 26,000 tons of CO2 emissions per annum.
Eni, in a statement, said: “Thus, the project will contribute to achieving the objectives set out in Italy’s Regional Energy Plan and in the National Energy Strategy with regards to decarbonisation and the amount of renewable energy in the energy mix.”
The Porto Torres photovoltaic project is part of Eni’s Progetto Italia initiatives launched in 2016 and is completed by the end of 2019.
Eni and the City of Porto Torres have created a framework, in accordance with the relevant local institutions, to implement any interventions in the area that impact energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Following the construction of the 26MW Assemini plant, which was completed in 2018, the present project marks the second plant built in Eni-owned industrial areas in Sardinia.
Recently Eni, through its subsidiary Eni Australia, has acquired a 33.7MW solar project to enter the Australian renewable energy market.
Eni has purchased the construction-ready project from Katherine Solar and the facility is located near Katherine, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Katherine Solar is a joint venture between Australia’s Epuron and the UK-based Island Green Power.
The solar project is expected to be powered by ground-mounted PV panels, along with a 5.7MVA/2.9MWh battery storage system. Upon commissioning, the plant is expected to help in avoiding nearly 63,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
In January, Eni signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, to collaborate on low carbon products and for the development of renewable energies.