Italy:

Geothermal Beating Coal Lures ENEL From Tuscan Geysers (Bloomberg)

An employee inspects the inside of a cooling tower at
a geothermal power station operated by Enel Green
Power SpA, a unit of Enel SpA, in Monterotondo
Marittimo, Italy. (Courtesy Bloomberg)

More than a century ago an Italian prince developed a machine that harnessed the hot air rising from the hills south of Florence to spin a turbine and generate the world’s first geothermal power.

Today the region better known for Chianti wine than high-technology produces enough power for a million people. That’s helped make Italy Europe’s biggest generator from underground heat, the world’s cheapest source of electricity.

Enel Green Power SpA (EGPW), which operates the plant, says its experience will give the unit of Italy’s largest utility an edge as it spends 900 million euros ($1.2 billion) in four years to take its technology from Turkey to Peru. Researcher Frost & Sullivan Inc. expects the global market to grow fivefold to $5.89 billion in the seven years through 2017 as governments cut green subsidies and seek alternatives to wind and solar.

The theme for the 37th GRC Annual Meeting & GEA Geothermal Energy Expo. Sept. 29-Oct. 2 in Las Vegas, is "A Global Resource, from Larderelllo to Las Vegas", celebrating a hundred years of geothermal power. Paolo Romagnoli - Manager Geothermal Center of Excellence ENEL Green Power will be a speaker at the Opening Session.

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