Right on the Pratomagno ridge that separates Valdarno from Casentino stands the first wind farm in Tuscany, the Secchieta Wind Park. Since 2001 the three wind turbines have been part of the skyline of our territory and over the years its presence has aroused positive and negative reactions. Here is his story.
More than twenty years ago, the then administration of the municipality of Montemignaio decided to build the well-known wind farm on the ridge that separates Valdarno from Casentino, on Monte Secchieta near Poggio alla Risala. The project started in 1991 with the company Riva Calzone, a wind turbine manufacturer, and ended in August 2001. However, the company went bankrupt and the project was completed by Edison Energie Speciali, which still manages the structure today. Specifically, the Secchieta Wind Park stands at an altitude between 1400 and 1500 meters above sea level, about 9 km from the town and includes, in jargon, three three-blade wind turbines approximately 40 m high and with 20 m long blades without speed multipliers, i.e. the only moving part is the rotor.
The wind farm, in general, exploits this system of wind turbines, arranged over an area and interconnected with each other with power lines and access roads, to produce electricity through the movement of the wind. In the Secchieta plant, the production of electricity produced is a total of 1.8 MW, which is then collected at Medium Voltage and taken to the collection point and the network via an underground backbone. Nowadays, environmental sustainability has become part of numerous public administration projects, attention towards new forms of renewable energy and respect for the environment move in parallel to guarantee a better future for all citizens. For these reasons, the Municipality of Montemignaio had planned the inclusion of two more wind turbines in the plant, but the project has still remained on paper. The major limits of such expansions lie in the landscape constraints of Pratomagno itself, this underlines the importance of a balanced approach that takes into account both energy needs and the protection of the environment and landscape.
The goal was to exploit the power of the wind to produce renewable energy. A sustainable choice at the basis of the Agreement between the Municipality of Montemignaio, the Tuscany Region and the Province of Arezzo, which however did not find everyone in agreement. The first wind farm in Tuscany has, in fact, sparked some controversy over the years, from the visual impact to that linked to the noise production of the blades. To address this last accusation, in 2008 a classical music concert by the regional group “Verdi” was even organized at the foot of the three shovels to convey the lack of noise. Obviously, at the same time, the dilemma of the disturbance that the new plant could cause to the local fauna also arose. Recent studies have highlighted the presence of wild boars, roe deer and many other species in the vicinity, including birds that have continued to nest in the nearby vicinity. Despite everything, the visual and environmental impact of a system of this kind in an open-air museum like Pratomagno should never be overlooked. It is difficult to balance the positive aspects, such as the production of clean energy and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, with the negative ones.
In conclusion, the Secchieta Wind Park represents an important step forward in the production of renewable energy in Tuscany, but also a test bed for the coexistence between energy development and environmental protection. The controversies and concerns raised by its construction highlight the complexity of balancing the benefits of wind power, such as the production of clean energy and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and negative impacts on the surrounding environment. This remains a tangible example of the need to involve all interested parties, from public administration to civil society, in the decision-making process because only through open dialogue and careful evaluation of the long-term implications will it be possible to achieve a future in which clean energy and of the environment go hand in hand.
The image of the wind farm was taken from the website of the municipality of Montemignaio
