Italy

Plans for goethermal power

Direct use

(Bargiacchi, et al. 2020)

Italian Geothermal Union (UGI) – UGI promotes the use, research, simplification of legislation and administrative procedures to allow more significant development of geothermal energy in Italy, in all its forms of application: electricity generation, direct use, and heat pump.

National Association of Geothermal Heat Pump (AnigHP) – AnigHP is an association of companies and designers operating in the field of design and construction of geothermal heat pump systems. The association counts among its associate designers, plumbers, geo-exchange installers, producers of heat pumps, components and materials for geothermal energy, main contractors.

National Research Council (NRC) – a government entity under the Ministry of Research involved in the characterization, classification and mapping of conventional and non-conventional geothermal resources for electricity production in the Southern regions of Italy.

Consortium for the Development of Geothermal Areas (Co.Svi.G.) – A company established by the municipalities of Tuscany, Italy, to promote local socio-economic development initiatives linked with the exploitation of geothermal energy.

*The projects/programmes supported by other partners to promote geothermal development in Europe, including in Italy can be found HERE.

Pilot geothermal power plants with re-injection and zero emissions - The Legislative Decree 11 February 2010, n. 22, with subsequent amendments, promotes research and experimentation, throughout the national territory, of pilot geothermal power plants with zero process emissions and reinjection of the fluids in the same geothermal reservoir after energy extraction.

Currently, only one research permit has been granted for the development of pilot plant called "CASTEL GIORGIO" – the project consists of construction of a pilot geothermal power plant in the Umbria region which will be capable of generating electricity and heat without emissions into the atmosphere, using the geothermal fluids located in the identified area, as primary energy source; once the geothermal heat will be used for electricity production in the plant, all the geothermal fluids will be re-injected into the reservoir through the re-injection wells.

Other applications have been submitted for the experimentation of geothermal pilot plants and the related evaluation is ongoing.

Descramble project – (final Conference took place in Pisa, Italy, on March 2018); a EU funded project, Coordinated by ENEL GREEN POWER, aiming to demonstrate the feasibility of generating electricity from super critical deep geothermal reservoirs.

Vigor project (closed in October 2014) – a project by the National Research Council (NRC) and the Ministry of Economic Development to evaluation the geothermal potential (technical and economical) in the Convergence Region - Campania, Calabria, Puglia and Sicily.

Geothermal Emission Control (GECO) – is an innovative EU-funded research initiative that aims to provide clean, safe and affordable geothermal energy with no carbon and sulfur emissions across Europe and the world, The initiative also includes the Castelnuovo Pilot Project which aims to achieve electricity generation from deep geothermal resources in Tuscany with Zero emission of non-condensable gases.

Geogrid – Geogrid is a research project led by Italian companies and universities to study the development and use of low and medium enthalpy geothermal resources in the United Arab Emirates.

Geothermal is classified as a mineral resource, owned by the Italian state or relevant region, and licenses for exploration and exploitation are awarded by either of these authorities depending on the location of the resource.

The administrative and control functions on exploration permits and exploitation licences of geothermal resources on the mainland were delegated to the Regions by Legislative Decree no. 112 of 31 March 1998.

Legislative Decree no. 22 of 11 February 2010 reordered the subject of exploration and exploitation of geothermal resources, with the aim of encouraging the use of the "renewable" geothermal resource, simplifying the related authorisation procedures, in accordance with the European and international guidelines for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and the opening-up to a competitive regime ensuring a transparent and non-discriminatory allocation of these resources.

The Legislative Decree no. 28 of 3 March 2011 established that the Ministry of Economic Development, in agreement with the Ministry of the Environment and the protection of the territory and the sea, in agreement with the Region concerned, is the competent authority for the assignment of particular permits for testing pilot geothermal power plants with zero emissions.

The Geothermal Atlas of the South – a project to obtain geothermal data for southern Italy regions and structure it to be viewed on the web, mainly by local policy makers, scientists, business and public. Also included in the project is the study of environmental aspects of geothermal projects.