“Successfully experimenting with new technologies and new application solutions to develop the diffusion of renewables in a complex, difficult land full of natural obstacles like that of the Aeolian Islands can certainly contribute to making the energy transition elsewhere easier and smoother, from the major islands to the continents ”. This was stated by one of the students of the “Isa Conti Eller Vainicher” institute Liparicommitted to the transition in the archipelago, in presenting, at the “Green Salina Energy Days” underway in Malfa, the promotional video “Energy in beauty: an itinerary in the Aeolian territory to discover energy” created by them.
In this regard, a new impetus for the search for innovative technologies in the renewable sources sector comes from offshore geothermal energy, which offers countless opportunities for research and experimentation in the Aeolian Islands. In recent days, the arrival of funds from the EU and the Region for the development of offshore geothermal energy in the Aeolian archipelago and the southern Tyrrhenian Sea is taking shape. The European Commission has approved the 35.3 billion euro aid scheme prepared by the Italian government to support the increase in energy production from renewable sources by giving priority, in tender notices, to so-called “not yet mature” technologies (including geothermal and offshore wind), through the construction of new power plants for a total of 4.6 GW of new installed capacity. The measure will be in force for four years.
At the same time, the INGV, thanks to funding from the regional Energy Department, is updating, with the “Irgie” project, the mapping of the geothermal sources present around the smaller Sicilian islands, work which is already well underway, as reported today by Fabio Di Felice of INGV on the second day of the “Green Salina Energy Days” organized by the “Sustainable Islands” association with the support of Ance Sicilia. The next step will be represented by the construction of an experimental “geothermal well” on the seabed off the coast of Panarea, which would allow the power plant of the island to be powered, as well as the mini-watermaker which will be built with funds from the “Green Islands” measure of the “Pnrr ”.
And it is precisely in the reuse of spending residues of this measure that the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and the regional Energy Department are verifying the possibility of finding the necessary resources, estimated at around 200 thousand euros, to build the experimental geothermal well . News also on the front of the European “Green Homes” directive. At the “Green Salina Energy Days” the idea was born to establish, on the initiative of the Municipality of Malfa, a “living lab” and an “Energy center” that provide technical assistance to local professionals and businesses, as well as training young people and transfer skills to them to carry out pilot projects for the energy efficiency of buildings. The initiative will be managed by the “Sustainable Islands” association, explained vice-president Francesco Cappello, with the technical support of trade associations, such as Ance Sicilia and Cna.
The director of Ance Sicilia, Giuseppe La Rosa, explained that “the Aeolian Islands, thanks to the use of natural materials such as pumice and lava stone and the traditional construction techniques of the place, are in a favorable starting condition to reach the European requirements of energy efficiency and living well-being before other areas . Ance Sicilia welcomes the implementation of the European ‘Green Houses’ directive in the archipelago as it pursues the protection of the environment and the reduction of energy consumption and, therefore, the cost of citizens’ bills. The islands are the best starting point for pilot projects that bring together various technologies, from natural materials to biogas, and to encourage this process, in the implementation phase of the EU directive, the national government should provide a specific measure for the smaller islands, so as was done in the ‘Pnrr’ with the ‘Green Islands’ measure”.
And Mario Ventimiglia, Cna consultant, underlined that “Buildings are like patients, there are no one-size-fits-all diagnoses and technical solutions. The EU directive can be applied perfectly to the Aeolian Islands, where the use of natural materials is part of the culture, not only of businesses and workers, but also of the inhabitants. Therefore, it will be easier to achieve excellent results here.”
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