Biomethane, the road to green energy now passes through Sant'Agata Bolognese
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The Hera Group's top management and regional alderwoman Gazzolo inaugurated today, just outside Bologna, the first biomethane-from-organic-waste plant created by a multi-utility. Investments totalling 37 million euro have thus given new impetus to the future of renewable energies on an industrial scale, with 7.5 million cubic metres of biomethane and 20 thousand tonnes of compost sustainably fuelling, each year, a range of sectors including motor vehicle transport and agriculture.
How can energy amounting to 6 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent be obtained each year, without consuming a single drop of crude oil and thus avoiding 14,600 tonnes of CO2 emissions? As of today, the answer can be found in Sant'Agata Bolognese, just outside the capital city of the Emilia-Romagna region, where the Hera Group has inaugurated a major plant producing biomethane from the organic portion of waste, designed and created on the basis of the most advanced precedents seen in this sector internationally.
The opening ceremony - that saw the participation of the region's alderwoman Paola Gazzolo, Hera's top management and the main local and sector institutions - ushered in a new phase in the decarbonisation of energy production, giving further impetus to the circular economy towards which the region has been moving for some time now. Thanks to this plant, indeed, sorted organic waste coming from our houses will serve the community under the form of gas. Once injected into the network, this gas will fuel public and private transportation vehicles running on natural gas, aiding a sector that is increasingly exposed to the issue of carbon dioxide emission.
In line with policies adopted by the Region, the National Energy Strategy and the European Union, the Sant'Agata Bolognese plant will now begin extracting value from this 37 million euro investment. The plant furthermore represents an enrichment of the range of plants belonging to Herambiente, the national leader in waste treatment that has been active for years in biogas production for renewable electricity.
A 100% renewable combustible from organic waste
In terms of volume, the plant is capable of treating 100 thousand tonnes of sorted organic waste each year, in addition to 35 thousand tonnes resulting from plant clipping and pruning. Thanks to the implementation of new and improved technologies in anaerobic digestion and upgrading, in particular, these resources will allow 7.5 million cubic metres of biomethane, a 100% renewable combustible, to be obtained along with 20 thousand tonnes of compost, a bio-fertiliser mainly intended for agriculture.
An architectural project conceived to bring the plant and the area served into harmony, minimising its environmental impact
With no combustion plants whatsoever, the plant is located within a pre-existing composting site, with no additional land use required for its construction. Planned with an eye to minimising its acoustic and odoriferous impact, the structure furthermore meets architectonic criteria aimed at harmonising it with the surrounding area. Even its outer covering, which will be added over the next few months, will be dense with themes and motifs that relay the sense of what goes on inside: in particular, images will portray vegetation blossoming out of an arid and cracked ground, calling to mind the transformations undergone by the organic product within the plant.
Lastly, a redevelopment of the surrounding green areas will be accompanied by the creation of a path intended to welcome those visiting the plant itself.
"We have been working with biomethane for some time now", comments Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, Executive Chairman of the Hera Group. "Today's inauguration, in particular, is a crowning achievement that represents years of work. Our community will now be served by a plant born out of research, studies and European tenders that allowed us to choose the best of what is currently available on the market. What's more, renewable energies must necessarily become part of industrialisation processes capable of expressing their potential on a large scale. In this sense the Sant'Agata plant is an excellent example that can be replicated elsewhere, above all in light of a regulatory framework that is finally favourable and provides fundamental added value for sector development."
"The ribbon has been cut in front of a highly innovative construction project that moves towards an energy transition, pointing in the direction of a low carbon economy: biomethane presents a significant opportunity for reducing the use of fossil fuels and lessening our region's energy footprint, with an eye to a circular economy", states the alderwoman of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Paola Gazzolo. "Renewable energy is a fundamental part of the green turn supported by the Emilia-Romagna government with the policies implemented since the beginning of its mandate. This change of pace is intended to offset the effects of climate change as currently seen and reduce the use of raw materials, promoting recovery and reuse. Precisely because these products and materials are available in limited quantities, we must save them and preserve their value: the project realised by Hera in Sant'Agata is headed in exactly this direction".
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Quality, Safety and Environment: Hera Group confirms a solid protection in compliance with international standards
Perseverance and continuous improvement, also thanks to innovation: these are the most prominent features of the Hera Group’s commitment to applying best practices for ISO 9001 (quality management system), ISO 14001 (environmental management system) and ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety management system), applied, to the benefit of all interested parties, since 2000, 2007 and 2009 respectively.
This has been confirmed by Bureau Veritas Italia, after 131 days of audits in which the integrated management system of the Hera Group and its companies Heratech (which manages the technical-commercial and operational services linked to end users, plant engineering services and analysis laboratories), Inrete Distribuzione Energia (which manages natural gas and electricity distribution) and Uniflotte (dedicated to managing the company’s vehicle fleet) was scrutinised by a team of 15 independent auditors. This work was done from February to May of this year, sampling and analysing sites and corporate processes in the provinces of Modena, Ferrara, Bologna, Imola, Forlì Cesena, Ravenna and Rimini, all served by the Group.
This represents a significant commitment in terms of verification, directly proportional to the detailed management of Quality, Safety and Environment issues applied by the Group’s companies.
In addition to the certification models for quality, safety and the environment, Bureau Veritas also verified the compliance of Hera’s management system with the circular economy standard (AFNOR XP X30-901) and the compliance of Heratech’s management system with UNI/PdR 74:2019 (BIM planning).
The Bureau Veritas auditors particularly appreciated Hera’s commitment to sustainability through innovative projects, e.g., in the areas of photovoltaics and agrivoltaics, Green Gas or gas leak detection using predictive algorithms with the help of artificial intelligence.
Marcello Guerrini, Central Director of Corporate Services: “This provides further confirmation of the fact that, with the commitment and proactive attitude shown by our people, at all levels, and thanks to the stimuli provided by Bureau Veritas, we can create a virtuous cycle working towards sustainability for the area served, for our customers and suppliers, and for all stakeholders.”
Roberta Prati, Certification & Industry Director of Bureau Veritas Italia: “It is a source of pride to be able to contribute – with our audits – to the verification and continuous improvement of the processes that the Hera Group provides for the benefit of the community. It is precisely by addressing people and the environment that we find the correct, deep motivation that guides us in our daily activities.”
For more info:
Ufficio Stampa Bureau Veritas Italia: Star comunicazione in movimento, Barbara Gazzale, 348.4144780, www.starcomunicazione.com
Ufficio Stampa Gruppo Hera: Cecilia Bondioli - Responsabile Rapporti con i Media ed Editoria, 051.287595, cecilia.bondioli@gruppohera.it, www.gruppohera.it
Contacts
Telephone: +39 051 287111
HERA SPA
Viale Carlo Berti Pichat nr. 2/4 - 40127
Bologna
Contacts
Telephone: +39 051 287111
HERA SPA
Viale Carlo Berti Pichat nr. 2/4 - 40127
Bologna