Torrevaldaliga Nord power station
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Torrevaldaliga Nord power station is a power station in Civitavecchia, Lazio, Italy with multiple units of varying statuses, none of which are currently operating.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Torrevaldaliga Nord power station | Civitavecchia, Lazio, Italy | 42.1269, 11.7583 (exact)[1] |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- CC, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3: 42.1269, 11.7583
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Emergency/Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC | Cancelled[2] | fossil gas: natural gas[3][4] | 800[3][4] | combined cycle[2] | not found | – | no |
| Unit 1 | Mothballed[5] | coal: bituminous[6] | 660 | ultra-supercritical | – | 2009 | no |
| Unit 2 | Mothballed[5] | coal: bituminous[6] | 660 | ultra-supercritical | – | 2010 | no |
| Unit 3 | Mothballed[5] | coal: bituminous[6] | 660 | ultra-supercritical | – | 2010 | no |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| CC | Enel SpA [100%][7] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
| Unit 1 | Enel SpA [100%][7] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Enel SpA [100%][7] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Enel SpA [100%][7] | Enel SpA [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): imported
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background on coal plant
The plant is owned by Enel Produzione SpA, and first consisted of four oil-fired 660 MW units. The units were replaced with three 660 MW coal-fired units, for a total installed capacity of 1,980 MW.[8][9]
Power in Europe reported in April 2008 that the replacement project had encountered stiff opposition including hunger strikes in May 2007. A year before, in February 2006, regional authorities suspended the project on the grounds that the company lacked full authorization for the coal loading jetty. In March 2006 Enel appealed the decision and, in May, was cleared to proceed.[10]
The three coal units were completed in July 2008,[11][8] and commissioned in 2009-2010.[12]
Retirement and replacement with gas
In October 2017, Italy said it planned to phase out coal power by 2025,[13] requiring Enel to retire the Torrevaldaliga Nord coal plant by 2025. Enel plans to build 1120 MW of gas peaker on the site of the Torrevaldaliga Nord power station, possibly to be increased to 1,680 MW with combined cycle technology.[14]
In July 2021, it was reported that the project plan had been halved from 1600 mw to 800 mw.[15] Enel will have to submit requests for approval for the smaller power plant.[15]
In February 2022, Enel decided to cancel the proposed gas conversion.[16]
In June 2023, Italy's Environment and Energy Security Minister reportedly stated that the country's coal plants could close by 2024, a year earlier than previously planned, if gas prices remained low.[17]
In November 2023, Enel confirmed the intention to phase-out coal by 2025.[18]
In September 2025, Italy’s Minister for the Environment and Energy Security reportedly said that the country was “not ready” to close Brindisi Sud power station and Torrevaldaliga Nord power station by the end of 2025, as previously planned. The minister cited the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East as the reasons to delay the closure of Italy’s coal plants.[19]
In December 2025, Italian media reported that the government was considering keeping Enel’s coal-fired power stations Torrevaldaliga Nord (Civitavecchia) and Federico II (Brindisi Sud power station) in reserve beyond the expiry of their environmental authorizations on 31 December 2025, citing energy security concerns and the possibility that the plants could be reactivated.[20]
In March 2026, the lower house of Italy’s parliament passed a bill that would delay the permanent retirement of the country’s remaining coal power plants until 2038, thirteen years later than previously scheduled. The delay was reportedly driven by energy supply challenges stemming from conflict in the Middle East.[21]
Public opposition
Environmental groups and concerned citizens have continued to monitor and fight against the plant in recent years:
In October 2011, Legambiente and other groups held a protest in Civitavecchia to highlight Torrevaldaliga's high emissions of C02 (6.7 million tons in 2010, far exceeding the 5 million tons officially allowed by the Italian government).[22]
In August 2012 Civitavecchia mayor Pietro Tidei, citing high levels of pollution from the plant, signed an ordinance stating his intention to have Torrevaldaliga Nord closed.[23]
In March 2013, Legambiente lamented that hearings to renew Torrevaldaliga's environmental license (the first such hearings in four years) lasted only a single session, and that suggestions from citizens and environmental groups were generally disregarded, even as the plant was allowed to increase its carbon monoxide emissions and bypass other environmental regulations.[24]
In a 2013 report, the Fondazione Culturale Responsabilità Etica noted that: "Civitavecchia is in the first place in the Lazio region and the third in Italy for mortality rate due to lung, trachea and bronchial cancer, with a significantly higher spreading of leukaemia and lymphomas comparing to the national average. The spread of asthma, allergies and other respiratory syndromes among children and youths living in Civitavecchia is by far the highest in the Lazio Region."[25]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "42.1295%2C11.7562". OpenStreetMap. Archived from the original on 2024-04-20. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.ansa.it/lazio/notizie/2022/02/23/zingaretti-centrale-enel-civitavecchia-non-riconvertita-a-gas_c7a80860-3047-4b52-8952-8321579286ca.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220709014132/https://www.ansa.it/canale_ambiente/notizie/focus_energia/2019/10/10/phase-out-carbone-entro-12-mesi-il-cronoprogramma-per-civitavecchia_fd9885ea-50bf-4d36-8db9-694e4b49a51e.html. Archived from the original on 2022-07-09.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20211204163034/https://etrurianews.it/2021/07/06/civitavecchia-enel-sulla-riconversione-tvn-deciso-di-dimezzare-i-gruppi-a-gas/. Archived from the original on 2021-12-04.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Civitavecchia e Brindisi, Governo riattiverà le centrali a carbone?". 2025-12-30. Archived from the original on 2026-01-28. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 https://www.gem.wiki/Coal_source_methodology_for_the_Global_Coal_Plant_Tracker.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Centrale termoelettrica Torrevaldaliga Nord - Civitavecchia - Info - Valutazioni e Autorizzazioni Ambientali - VAS - VIA - AIA". va.mite.gov.it. Archived from the original on 2024-04-20. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "ENEL Torrevaldaliga Nord Thermal Power Plant Italy," Global Energy Observatory, accessed April 2014.
- ↑ "Coal Plants in Italy", Assocarboni website, accessed April 2014.
- ↑ "PiE’s new power plant project tracker – April 2008", Power in Europe, Issue 523, April 7, 2008, page 29.
- ↑ "Italy’s Enel opens new coal-fired power plant," ft, July 31, 2008
- ↑ "ECOGAVO system at Torrevaldaliga Nord," Babcock Borsig Steinmüller GmbH, accessed May 2015
- ↑ "Italy to phase out coal by 2025," E3G, Oct 24, 2017
- ↑ "Phase-out carbone, entro 12 mesi il cronoprogramma per Civitavecchia," A & E, Oct 10, 2019
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Civitavecchia - Enel, on the TVn conversion decided to halve the gas groups". Etruria News. July 6, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Zingaretti, centrale Enel Civitavecchia non riconvertita a gas". ANSA. February 23, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Italy could abandon coal by 2024, environment minister says," Reuters, June 5, 2023
- ↑ "Enel presenta piano industriale: confermato obiettivo decarbonizzazione entro 2025," Brindisi Report, November 22, 2023
- ↑ “Gas storage levels in Italy and Europe are good, Italian minister says,” Reuters, September 6, 2025
- ↑ Erminia Voccia (30 December 2025). "Governo valuta il mantenimento in riserva delle centrali a carbone di Civitavecchia e Brindisi". rinnovabili.it. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ “Italy to postpone shutdown of coal-powered plants by 13 years,” Reuters, March 31, 2026
- ↑ "Contro il carbone, Legambiente Lazio aderisce alla manifestazione a Civitavecchia," Legambiente, October 29, 2011.
- ↑ "Il Sindaco di Civitavecchia: 'Chiuderò la centrale Enel'", QualEnergia, August 1, 2012.
- ↑ "Centrale a carbone di Civitavecchia, autorizzazione rilasciata senza tenere conto osservazioni comitati e cittadini", Legambiente, March 14, 2013.
- ↑ "ENEL - Annual General Meeting 2013: Questions on Point n°1 of the AGM Agenda", Fondazione Culturale Responsabilità Etica, 2013.
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
