Geothermal District Heating in Radicondoli
Overview
The municipal administration of Radicondoli in Tuscany, Italy, is planning to extend geothermal district heating across the entire municipality. This initiative has the potential to allow Radicondoli to become the first 100% carbon-free municipality in Tuscany.
The first phase of the district heating project in Radicondoli was completed in 2020, serving 140 users with an investment of 7 million euros. Radicondoli is the second-largest producer of geothermal energy in Italy, thanks to its five geothermal plants. These plants provide residual heat, with water temperatures between 90 to 120 degrees Celsius, for the district heating systems. This heat is then transformed by electric control units to warm homes efficiently.
Impact on the community
The geothermal heating system has allowed residents to move away from LPG and methane heating, significantly reducing their energy costs to just EUR 0.050 per kWh. Additionally, municipal tenders have provided residents with reduced costs for public transportation, the start-up of new production activities, and the purchase of their first homes.
The expansion of the district heating network is funded by royalties paid by Enel to the municipality. The system, powered by Enel Green Power's Radicondoli 15 geothermal well, has a thermal power of 5 MW and was completed with an investment of 5.6 million euros. This project is highly appreciated by the citizens, who enjoy a drastic reduction in heating costs and polluting emissions.
“Vivo a Radicondoli” project
In Tuscany, geothermal power plants typically supply electricity to the national grid, providing little direct benefit to local users. However, Radicondoli, in collaboration with the Consortium for the Development of Geothermal Areas (CoSviG), is using part of these geothermal royalties to reduce local electricity costs.
The Municipality of Radicondoli is then offering tenders for households and businesses to apply for a disbursement covering 30% of their 2022 electricity expenditure, up to EUR 400 per household and EUR 5000 per business.
“It is the first commitment that we have made with WivoaRadicondoli 2.0 and now it is already a reality. We have given priority to what is a real emergency: the cost of energy.”