Good morning, good morning everyone. I am Enrico Faccenda, I am the mayor of Canale, and I am here in my second term. I have a fair amount of experience in the administrative activities of the municipality of Canale, having previously served two terms as deputy mayor. Over these years, I have dealt with environmental issues and have personally, with my team, tackled themes related to the reduction of waste collection, the removal of asbestos from public buildings, the insulation of all buildings, always public, for energy saving. Among various things, I have also followed the production of energy from renewable sources with solar panels at the fruit and vegetable market, where I am the sole administrator, an energy solution with a considerable installed power.
We have renovated the entire public lighting system, opting for LED solutions. With these themes in mind, more than almost twenty years ago, Canale equipped itself with a district heating system. This has certainly allowed for an improvement in air quality over the years, as many old heat production plants powered by diesel were shut down with the activation of the district heating plant.
ARPA’s data testify to an improvement in air quality, and we are proud of this.
The first type of fuel for our district heating plant was gas, hence from fossil and not renewable sources. Fortunately, in recent years and especially since last winter, this collaboration has begun, which saw the interaction of the EGEA group with Vigolungo, and the municipality acted somewhat as a leader of this initiative by following all the administrative procedures and providing full support. Not only was the existing plant connected, but it was expanded, even in the industrial area.
There are very few district heating plants powered entirely by renewable sources in Italy, and even fewer of this size that can supply a town like Canale with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
So, we have schools, a nursing home, municipal buildings, many businesses, shops, and especially condominiums connected to this type of plant. The advantage is certainly the fact of being powered by renewable sources: given the price increases of the last six, seven months, it is not obvious to also talk about savings from an economic viewpoint. It must be kept in mind that the costs of this plant compared to those of other nearby cities, with plants powered solely by gas, are about 30% lower, and this fact benefits our citizens.
This is an important opportunity to showcase this type of relationship born between EGEA, the Municipality, and especially Vigolungo, which is the company that produces and supplies this heat.
We are proud to be able to host such an important activity in our municipality for the social life of the town because a town is strong when its economic activities are diversified. We are fortunate to have tourism, enogastronomy, craftsmanship, but we are lucky to have an industry of this kind, with a strong sensitivity towards environmental sustainability. I can only express my praise, the thanks both to EGEA and to Vigolungo.
The fact that the district heating plant is powered completely by renewable sources has allowed its extension to the civil dimension of our community, expanding it to additional condominiums and commercial activities, but also to extend the connections in the industrial area, where by now the vast majority of the settled companies use the heat of district heating from totally renewable sources.
All these aspects allow us to proceed decisively towards the certification of Canale City Carbon Free.
