Eni SPA has begun a project to generate electricity from renewable sources near sites of its oil and gas operations, often on reclaimed land.
In partnership with Syndial, a reclamation specialist that owns more than 4,000 hectares in Italy, it will revive sites for production of zero-emission energy.
It has identified 400 hectares in six regions of Italy for two phases of work called Progetto Italia.
In the first phase, it will develop five projects with installed power generation capacity of about 70 Mw in Assemini, Porto Torres, Manfredonia, Priolo, and Augusta. A second phase will install an additional 150 Mw of capacity.
Most of the plants will be photovoltaic. Some projects will use other technologies such as biomass and concentrated solar power.
The Progetto Italia projects, involving investment of €200-250 million, are to be complete by 2022. They’ll lower emissions of carbon dioxide by about 180,000 tonnes/year, Eni said.
The company will supplement the renewable energy plants with gas-fired capacity.
Separately, Eni plans a 50-Mw solar plant near Kadanwari gas field in Pakistan to generate electricity for local sales. It expects to open the plant by yearend 2017.
And in Egypt, the company plans a solar plant near Balaiym oil field with 150 Mw of capacity. Power will be used in the field and sold locally. Completion is due by yearend 2017.
“This initiative is central to Eni’s strategy of energy transition towards a low-carbon future, based not only on the promotion of renewable energy but on the reduction of CO2 emissions occurring from the production of hydrocarbons and on maximizing the utilization of gas, the cleanest fossil fuel, as the prime source of electricity generation,” Eni said.
