Geothermal activity in Italy: Present status and future prospects

Abstract

In the Italian Peninsula the Apennines separata a relatively cold Po-Adriatic-Ionian “foredeep” external belt from a warmer Tyrrhenian “back-arc” internal tensional belt. The latter is characterized by high geothermal heat flow together with conspicuous recent or present-day volcanic phenomena. In this area, extending from Tuscany to Campania, lie the known steam- and water-dominated fields (Fig. 1). Other “warm” areas are located on some Tyrrhenian islands. Within the “cold” external belt, interesting locations for low enthalpy utilizations can be found in the Po river valley, particularly in the eastern part near Ferrara and Abano. Since 1977 ENEL (National Electric Energy Agency) and AGIP (State Oil Company) have been jointly conducting geothermal activities in Italy, with the exception of the Tuscan geothermal area where ENEL operates on an exclusive basis. At present the areas surveyed cover about 8250 km 2. As of December 1983 the geothermal installed capacity was 456.2 MW (net capacity 340 MW) and low-temperature geothermal resources equivalent to 100,000 OET ‡ ‡ Oil equivalent tons. /yr were being used. The National Energy Plant (PEN), issued on 4 December 1981, forecast for the year 1990 a geothermal power increment of 200 MW e, above the 449.1 MW e, already installed. The target in the low enthalpy non-electric sector is to save 300,000 OET/yr by 1990. This paper describes the activities carried out from March 1975 to December 1983 and the main projects in progress.