The $16.3 million (€15 million) Cornia 2 geothermal power plant, located in the Italian region of Tuscany, will rely on locally sourced forest biomass to heat steam created from geothermal power entering the plant at more than 200 degrees Celsius.
Enel said the integration improves cycle efficiency and the amount of steam produced at the plant and will boost generation capacity by 5 MW to about 18 MW.
“The integration of different technologies is a major step forward for the future of renewable energy," said Francesco Venturini, the company's CEO. "This plant will enable the optimisation of results and represents a replicable model that opens up new local energy, economic and employment opportunities.”
Enel Green Power is currently developing a similarly integrated approach to harnessing renewable energy at its Stillwater Solar Geothermal Hybrid plant in the US state of Nevada, and at the Fontas Solar park in Brazil where solar PV power will be integrated with wind turbine technology.
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