After the public initiative on geothermal energy which took place in recent days in Pomarance, in the presence of the president of the Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani, the mayor of Radicondoli – Francesco Guarguaglini, re-candidate in the next municipal elections – intervenes to take stock of the requests arriving from traditional area.
These requests were made clear in a joint letter sent by the Municipalities of Pomarance, Castelnuovo Val di Cecina, Monterotondo Marittimo, Monteverdi Marittimo, Radicondoli, Chiusdino and Montieri, who worked together to identify some common themes.
«Everyone’s request – explains Guarguaglini – is to include in the multi-year plan for the promotion of investments in the geothermal sector the list of shared proposals of the Municipalities of the traditional geothermal area and of the projects of the individual Municipalities. It is therefore essential that requests are included in the Plan. The municipalities worked together, even if they come from different political areas, I am center left, others are center right. But in this historical moment it would be very wrong to appear divided before Enel. We represent approximately 82% of the production of the entire geothermal sector. Enel has already made a proposal that we cannot accept. We are faced with a twenty-year agreement and the impacts on the territories must be maximised.”
At stake is the renewal of the mining concessions underlying the cultivation of geothermal energy, currently and always under the responsibility of Enel green power, which is called upon to propose an investment plan by the end of June; based on the provisions of the Energy decree approved by the Government, the Tuscany Region will evaluate the validity of the investment plan, granting or not a renewal in favor of Egp for up to 20 years.
«For this reason the economic values contained in the investment plan must be updated annually on an Istat basis – continues Guarguaglini – Not only that, this is why we ask, all together, that the regulatory adjustments and the best technologies, primarily in environmental matters, be extended to all the settlements that fall within the traditional area”.
Below are the explicit requests:
Among the items shared by all the Municipalities of the traditional geothermal area are thermal and electrical equity, i.e. the construction of systems through the use of renewable sources to guarantee thermal heating and energy autonomy such as photovoltaic systems through energy communities, district heating systems geothermal or through other renewable sources.
And again, there is the concession of heat at no cost for civil and industrial uses. There are the employment implications with the mandatory use of economic realities of the geothermal district for all non-incentivised Enel interventions, for which Enel itself qualifies as a private economic entity.
The entrustment to consultancy firms is envisaged for the creation of an economic and productive development platform, as well as the activation of attractiveness measures for businesses, their consolidation also with a view to establishing new supply chains.
The consolidation of the sector of existing businesses in the area is envisaged, through the financing of specific municipal tenders.
The modernization of the road system, the valorisation of the territory, tourism and individual municipal projects and the construction of the geothermal cycle route called “the steam routes” are planned.
Looking instead at what geothermal resources already guarantee today in terms of territorial impacts, we remember – in addition to the district heating already active in 8 Municipalities – that the “General Agreement on geothermal energy” had already been signed in December 2007: it is in this reference framework that over 30 million euros are allocated annually (until 2024) to the 16 Tuscan geothermal municipalities, 18 of which are collected directly by the municipal administrations and the remaining 12 – constituting the so-called Geothermal Fund – destined for both municipal and area projects, collectively approved by the institutional table on geothermal energy of which all local authorities are members (Region, Provinces, Unions of Municipalities, Municipalities, CoSviG).
