Torrevaldaliga Nord power station

From Global Energy Monitor

Torrevaldaliga Nord power station is an operating power station of at least 1980-megawatts (MW) in Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Torrevaldaliga Nord power station Civitavecchia, Rome, Italy 42.1269, 11.7583 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit CC: 42.1269, 11.7583

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - bituminous 660 ultra-supercritical 2009 2025 (planned)
Unit 2 operating coal - bituminous 660 ultra-supercritical 2010 2025 (planned)
Unit 3 operating coal - bituminous 660 ultra-supercritical 2010 2025 (planned)
Unit CC cancelled[1] gas[2][3] 800[2][3] combined cycle[1] 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
Unit 1 Enel SpA [100.0%]
Unit 2 Enel SpA [100.0%]
Unit 3 Enel SpA [100.0%]
Unit CC Enel SpA[4] Enel SpA [100.0%]

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.[5][6]

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.[7]

The three coal units were completed in July 2008,[8][5] and commissioned in 2009-2010.[9]

Retirement and replacement with gas

In October 2017, Italy said it planned to phase out coal power by 2025,[10] 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.[11]

In July 2021, it was reported that the project plan had been halved from 1600 mw to 800 mw.[12] Enel will have to submit requests for approval for the smaller power plant.[12]

In February 2022, Enel decided to cancel the proposed gas conversion.[13]

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.[14]

In November 2023, Enel confirmed the intention to phase-out coal by 2025.[15]

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).[16]

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.[17]

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.[18]

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."[19]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 https://www.ansa.it/lazio/notizie/2022/02/23/zingaretti-centrale-enel-civitavecchia-non-riconvertita-a-gas_c7a80860-3047-4b52-8952-8321579286ca.html#:~:text=(ANSA)%20%2D%20ROMA%2C%2023Il%20risultato%20%C3%A8%20definitivo. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 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 09 July 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 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 04 December 2021. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20221221025223/https://www.ft.com/content/b0c5c612-5e5f-11dd-b354-000077b07658. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 "ENEL Torrevaldaliga Nord Thermal Power Plant Italy," Global Energy Observatory, accessed April 2014.
  6. "Coal Plants in Italy", Assocarboni website, accessed April 2014.
  7. "PiE’s new power plant project tracker – April 2008", Power in Europe, Issue 523, April 7, 2008, page 29.
  8. "Italy’s Enel opens new coal-fired power plant," ft, July 31, 2008
  9. "ECOGAVO system at Torrevaldaliga Nord," Babcock Borsig Steinmüller GmbH, accessed May 2015
  10. "Italy to phase out coal by 2025," E3G, Oct 24, 2017
  11. "Phase-out carbone, entro 12 mesi il cronoprogramma per Civitavecchia," A & E, Oct 10, 2019
  12. 12.0 12.1 "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)
  13. "Zingaretti, centrale Enel Civitavecchia non riconvertita a gas". ANSA. February 23, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. "Italy could abandon coal by 2024, environment minister says," Reuters, June 5, 2023
  15. "Enel presenta piano industriale: confermato obiettivo decarbonizzazione entro 2025," Brindisi Report, November 22, 2023
  16. "Contro il carbone, Legambiente Lazio aderisce alla manifestazione a Civitavecchia," Legambiente, October 29, 2011.
  17. "Il Sindaco di Civitavecchia: 'Chiuderò la centrale Enel'", QualEnergia, August 1, 2012.
  18. "Centrale a carbone di Civitavecchia, autorizzazione rilasciata senza tenere conto osservazioni comitati e cittadini", Legambiente, March 14, 2013.
  19. "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 datases, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.