GELA PHOTOVOLTAIC PLANT PROJECT

In line with national and international energy policy guidelines relating to the promotion of the use of renewable sources and the reduction of climate-changing gas emissions, Eni S.p.A. has launched the second phase of a nationwide project for the construction of renewable source plants (in particular for the use of solar energy) for the enhancement and redevelopment of industrial areas owned by group companies that are currently disused or in the process of being disused (i.e. “Italy Project Phase 2”).
As part of this project, it is proposed to build a photovoltaic plant with a total capacity of approximately 1 MWp (hereinafter the “Plant” or the “Project”) within the industrial area of the Ex Raffinerie di Gela (RaGe) in the municipality of Gela, in the province of Caltanissetta. The site falls within the territorial limits of the Municipality of Gela, in C.da Maroglio, province of Caltanissetta, within the industrial area of Ex Raffinerie di Gela (RaGe). More in detail, the area is located southeast of the town of Gela, approximately 3.8 km from the city center as the crow flies. The entire RaGe area has been classified as a Site of National Interest (S.I.N.) of Gela. The area chosen for the installation (Island 10) is owned by Syndial and is easily accessible through the existing internal road network related to the industrial plant.

Design criteria

The criteria with which the executive design of the plant has been carried out are based on the following technical assumptions:

• preliminary choice of the plant typology, i.e. photovoltaic plant based on polycrystalline silicon technology with 72 cells and centralized inverter;
• maximization of the producible energy by means of East-West orientation of the panels through a single-axis tracking system;
• availability of the areas, morphology and accessibility of the site acquired both through surveys;
• availability of connection point to the internal Eni network (RIU);
• compliance with the laws and regulations of good practice in force;
• satisfaction of plant performance requirements;
• achievement of maximum economies of operation and maintenance of the designed Plant;
• optimization of the cost/benefit ratio;
• use of component materials of high quality, efficiency, long life and easily available on the market today;
• reduction of energy losses related to the operation of the Plant in order to maximize the amount of electricity that can be fed into the Eni internal network (RIU).