Italy’s largets utility company, Enel (ENEL.MI), will begin operations at two geothermal power plants in Nevada in the first quarter of 2009, according to a company statement released today.
Enel North America will start production for the Stillwater and Salt Wells plants with a combined capacity of 65 megawatts (MW). The two plants will generate some 400 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, enough to meet the energy needs of roughly 40,000 American households, while avoiding the emission of more than 300,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year, Enel said.
"Backed by a century of experience in Italy, Enel today is a leading player in geothermal power in the United States, as well, with one plant that is already operational and a portfolio of projects that are in advanced stages of development for a power capacity of more than 150 MW in Nevada, California and Utah," said Francesco Starace, head of Enel’s new Renewable Energy division.
In Tuscany, Italy, Enel has 31 geothermal plants and a power output of roughly 700 MW.
In Chile, working with Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP), Enel is exploring a number of particularly suitable areas that show potential capacity in excess of 100 MW. In El Salvador, Enel constructed its first geothermal plant abroad, Berlin III, with a capacity of 44 MW.
In April 2008 Enel’s head of geothermal development told Reuters the company was targeting Latin America for expansion in geothermal power production. Read that interview at the link below.
Loading...