I’m Simone Odella, a certified engineer, and I work for Territorio ed Energia, a small ESCo based in the province of Savona, mainly focused on energy saving. Vigolungo’s ongoing pursuit of energy efficiency has led to the analysis of new goals beyond the factory’s premises. This commitment has also generated excellent opportunities for the local community in Canale.
Two different projects have been implemented. The first involved the supply of thermal energy to the city’s district heating network, with thermal energy produced through the combustion of woody biomass. The second project involved the creation of a new district heating network capable of providing thermal energy—naturally green energy—to industrial users located near the Vigolungo plant.
This second project, strongly supported by Vigolungo, has yielded excellent results. In just over a year, around 180 megawatt-hours of thermal energy were supplied to the district heating network: the connected users, currently four in number, saved about 20,000 cubic meters of gas. As a result, 36 tons of CO2 emissions were avoided.
It’s important to clarify one point regarding CO2 emission reduction. While it is true that biomass combustion generates CO2, plants absorb CO2 during their life cycle. Therefore, the balance between the CO2 absorbed during the plant’s life and the CO2 emitted during combustion is neutral.
Finally, the economic relevance of this project should not be underestimated: the users connected to this new district heating network were able to avoid purchasing natural gas to meet their thermal needs and thus saved a significant amount of money.
