Navigation

Alert Web

HeraAssetPublisherFilterComuneSelector

Choose the municipality

Ci dispiace, il servizio non è attivo nel tuo comune.
Esplora i servizi attivi nel tuo comune:
Inserisci un comune con il servizio di "Ambiente" oppure vai all'Homepage

Dialogue with the urban context for new energy: the Borgo Panigale cogeneration plant

Testata Focus

Focus

Testata Focus

Focus

Category Facet

category
Category Facet

Custom Facet

ddmStructureKey
Custom Facet

Search Results

x-results-for-x
x-entries per-page

showing-x-to-x-of-x-entries

Asset Publisher

Dialogue with the urban context for new energy: the Borgo Panigale cogeneration plant

District heating is already in itself a "sustainable" and environment-friendly solution, because it can guarantee better performance than traditional domestic boilers. In addition, the plant located in Borgo Panigale ensures lower emissions into the environment, more reliability and greater availability of energy. The system can heat the equivalent of 8,000 residential units. Currently, the turbines can produce 35,000 MWh of energy per year, almost twice as much as in the past.

When going by the roundabout between Via Prati di Caprara and Via Vittorio Sabena in the Reno di Borgo Panigale neighbourhood in Bologna, it seems like you are passing next to a gigantic colourful radiator. It has the appearance of a modern work of art, but instead it is the Hera Group’s new cogeneration plant. 

This plant has changed the face of the entire neighbourhood since it was inaugurated in October 2017. Its characteristic element is the elliptical structure covering the stack of the plant. It consists of 576 plates of colourful porcelain stoneware arranged on multiple overlapping rings that create a combination of colours and light with the nuances typical of the city of Bologna: brick red, ochre yellow, tuff yellow, dark brown and rust. 

Hera’s undertaking for an efficient district heating system

The Cogen plant, which stands in Via Paolo Nanni Costa, is not only Hera’s jewel from the architectural viewpoint - perfectly integrated with the new urban context of the neighbourhood - but is also the Group’s pride and joy from the production viewpoint. Entirely designed and built by Heratech, the engineering essence of the Hera Group, the plant produces energy in cogeneration, meaning both electricity and hot water necessary for the district heating network. Built thanks to an investment topping Euro 17 million, the plant heats the equivalent of 8000 housing units and currently the turbines produce up to 35,000 Mwh of energy a year, almost double that of the past.  

District heating is already in itself a “sustainable” and eco-friendly supply because it is able to guarantee greater efficiency than the traditional household boilers. What’s more is that the plant guarantees less atmospheric emissions, greater reliability and a higher availability of energy with 90% efficiency.

What does all of this mean in terms of benefits for the environment? It is like planting 25,000 new trees every year. Or stopping the flow of traffic of 8000 vehicles during the same period. 

Technology, efficiency, reutilisation of the land

The use of advanced technology and energy efficiency are therefore the cornerstones of this work, in line with Hera’s mission for sustainable development. But that’s not all. The new Cogen district heating plant made a remarkable impact also in terms of land reutilisation. Built on the site of the thermoelectric plant in operation since the 1990s, the Cogen plant allowed the plant in Via Segantini to be shut down and today only one plant is able to cover the same requirement guaranteed by the two of the past. (is it advisable to say that?) Yes, I think so

This is an enormous goal that Hera has met, which sets upgrading existing facilities one of its primary objectives. If the percentage of land reutilisation was 77% in the Group Sustainability Report closed in 2019, the development of the network works and of plants presently in progress and included in the 2020-2023 Industrial Plan will allow 73% of reutilised land to be guaranteed. (data updated to 2019).

The undertaking of the Hera Group for energy efficiency

The Borgo Panigale Cogen plant is part of the 343 interventions forming the plans for improvement of Hera, Inrete, AcegasApsAmga and Marche Multiservizi at year-end 2019, and that will allow consumption to be cut by 13,740 Tep (-5.9% energy consumption compared to 2013), passing the target set for 2020 by -5%. (data updated to 2019).

The Bologna Cogen plant in figures:

  • 8,000 housing units served 
  • 35,000 Mwh energy produced each year
  • Euro 17 million invested 

District Heating
Our plants

[business-activities/focus] hidden search categories

Search Bar

Search Bar

Tag Facet

tag
Tag Facet

Search Results

Focus
18/08/2021

Hera to hunt down water leaks with cosmic rays

Hera to hunt down water leaks with cosmic rays brunetti_maurizia_thumbnail.png First satellite leak detection, and now cosmic rays. To detect water leaks in the systems, Hera again turns to “space” technology, already used in the probe that circles around the red planet to detect water on Mars. Cosmic rays are explained to us by Maurizia Brunetti, Manager of Mains Water Coordination at Hera Spa: “These are harmless particles, neutrons, that come from space and to which our planet is continually exposed. They also interact with hydrogen, which slows down their movement. Since the water molecule is composed of hydrogen in two atoms out of three, whenthe neutrons meet the water, they are blocked and in some way hindered in their free movement. Detection of these anomalies in neutron behaviour indicates a water leak”. Compared with other technologies used, what are the biggest benefits that this brings to leak detection? It surely allows us to check a much greater number of networks than traditional methods, precisely because it can travel on any mobile transport it is assembled on,” concludes Maurizia Brunetti. “Considering that in Emilia-Romagna, we have a water supply network of 27,000 kilometres, if the results should prove really positive, that would certainly be a significant step forward. We are currently trialling it on the 200 kilometres of the network in the Bologna region: we still need to implement a calibration stage but in the next few months, the survey area will be extended to over one thousand kilometres. Detection of leaks with this technology could allow us to intervene and repair them more quickly and, as a result, to salvage important quantities of water in a sector such as water services which is increasingly subject to climate change. no
Focus
18/08/2021

Food for the soul

Food for the soul gobbi_claudia_thumbnail.png Claudia Gobbi is a service manager in the Facility Management department, dealing with the management of spaces/premises within the Group. Like many other staff members of the Hera Group, she continued working throughout the entire lockdown. Working in the company for over thirty years, Clauda has never witnessed such a critical moment as the pandemic period, but like many other Hera employees she continued to work throughout the entire lockdown. “We immediately realised how serious the situation was. It was necessary to take action quickly to protect colleagues, following all regulations laid down by the Safety Committee. “The whole year was incredible, the first three months in particular, but the results achieved gave us some serenity and the monitoring carried out by the authorities confirmed we were following correct procedures. We felt really useful to our company and colleagues. Just as an example, the fact of keeping the company canteens open throughout the lockdown was very important for our colleagues, at a time when nowhere was open outside our premises.” As a lover of travel, music and art, Claudia suffered under the Covid restrictions which stopped her enjoying her hobbies. “Using travel to open my mind to other cultures and realities different from my own is always a very moving experience for me.” She says that what she misses most is “Food for the soul”: museums, cinema, and theatre. “It’s not enough to eat food for the body; culture is an essential part of my life. As an architect, going to exhibitions and museums served as a stimulus to open my mind and inspire new ideas and thinking also in my work.” no
Focus
18/08/2021

A qualitative leap

A qualitative leap donati_michele_thumbnail.png Michele Donati, a 45-year-old from Ferrara, always out on the road. Since July 2020, he has been the driver of a mobile container bin lorry for the Waste Management Department of Hera, after 20 years as a coach driver for a well-known transport company. “At the end of spring, two pieces of good news arrived,” explains Michele. “The virus, which was like a bolt out of the blue, started to loosen its grip, allowing a little more freedom for everyone, and there was a new job for me. Starting work at Hera was, for me, a huge qualitative leap: I am very serene now, both regarding my contractual status and my health.Also, employment in the Covid era is even more important: I truly feel useful, and happy to be able to go out every day, to be out on the road.” And this road is the very motorway that Michele sees every day from his window and that, over these months, has monitored the rhythm of life, a life that at first seemed to have stopped with all traffic gone, and then, slowly, revved up again towards normality. “I felt miserable seeing that deserted motorway, that silence… just like scenes from a film.” It was a ‘film’ in which Michele played a starring role, thanks to his voluntary work as a fireman. Michele is a sociable person and also now, working in Hera, he has easily integrated into his new team. “Even though we don’t have many meetings, we colleagues see each other in the changing room, we chat, we discuss things: we are a close team and fairly similar, also in age”. And now it’s simply time to look to the future as Michele, despite having already reached some important goals, is ready for new projects. “In my life now, I have everything: a partner, a daughter of 5 years old, a job I like and my hobbies. Now, my family and I can think about a new house… this one is small. And, then, it’s great to dive into new adventures, never staying still…” no
Focus
18/08/2021

Hera focuses on digitalization and reinforces Cybersecurity

Hera focuses on digitalization and reinforces Cybersecurity picchioni_franco_thumbnail.png The lockdown, and consequent remote working, accelerated the process of digitalization in many companies. Unfortunately, it also increased the targets of many cyber criminals, as people were otherwise preoccupied with the Covid-19 crisis. In such a situation, it was therefore essential for Hera to have a department within our company network to defend us from such attacks. The arrival of Franco Picchioni, Chief of Information and Cyber Security Management within the Central Administration for Innovation, in January 2020, strengthened these processes. Franco, what is your role in Hera and how long have you worked here? I deal with all problems linked to cyber security for the entire Group, taking into consideration external threats (in continuous evolution), the internal drive for digitalization, and the balancing of security with user-friendly systems. I’ve been in this role since last January, when it was created. I arrived from another Italian company in the field, where I had a similar role for the past ten years. Why is it an important issue, especially at this moment in time? As well as the question of lockdown which forced many companies to use smart working extensively, over the last few years the issue of cyber security has been growing constantly, mainly due to the fact that companies are now pushing for a move to digitalization. This evolution means the computerisation of data and processes, as well as the introduction of cyber-space as the new field of action. In this context, the area of potential attack within our companies is huge, and the resulting defences must be appropriate and prompt. no
Focus
18/08/2021

Job rotation for employee professional development and organizational motives

Job rotation for employee professional development and organizational motives addesa_lidia_thumbnail.png Developing flexible learning opportunities to make people protagonists in their own development is one of our HR strategic goals. One of the main initiatives in this regard is the promotion of circulation of staff in an increasingly common policy of job rotation. 2020 introduced a number of important innovations in the field of in-company mobility: with the introduction of a support channel, the whole company has been given the chance to indicate their own areas of interest and motivational aspects to consider in career evolution in other roles and departments/companies in the Group. Over 450 colleagues have already welcomed this opportunity, laying the ground for exchange activity which has already created some work mobility initiatives. One such example is Lidia Addesa who, after a number of years in the IT Systems Department, embarked on a new experience in the Commercial Innovation and Operations department of Herambiente. “The support channel was a chance for me to indicate my willingness to undertake an internal exchange initiative. I talked to Personnel and they supported me in my application when the right opportunity for me came up”. The company has for some time now offered the possibility of professional experiences in other departments/locations, as in the case of Tobia Desalvo, who enjoyed different experiences in the Central Market Administration and Waste Management department. “Thanks to the internal exchange scheme, my 15 years in Hera have been a journey of discovery within the company. I have been able to expand and develop my existing professional skills, in very different contexts.” no
x-entries per-page

showing-x-to-x-of-x-entries

Asset Publisher

Focus

A source of clean energy from sewers and wet waste: Biomethane

An investment of Euro 37 million. A plant that disposes of 100 thousand tonnes of organic waste produced by separate waste collection and another 35 thousand tonnes coming from green waste and pruning material. 
Focus

Biodiesel has been developed also from used food oil

Fuel may also be extracted from vegetable oils. Used domestic vegetable oil (such as frying oil) which is recovered by multiutility services via roadside containers and drop-off points, is transformed into biodiesel, which in turn is used to fuel the vehicles used for urban waste collection.
Focus

Bus fuel from trash: Hera's pilot project with "START"

To obtain clean energy to power Ravenna's buses by decomposing waste in landfills. 
Focus

Data, the key to a smart future

From city to "smart city" thanks to data: with our detection systems we can monitor traffic trends, air quality and consumption of public parks. 
Focus

Dialogue with the urban context for new energy: the Borgo Panigale cogeneration plant

District heating is already in itself a "sustainable" and environment-friendly solution, because it can guarantee better performance than traditional domestic boilers. In addition, the plant located in Borgo Panigale ensures lower emissions into the environment, more reliability and greater availability of energy. The system can heat the equivalent of 8,000 residential units. Currently, the turbines can produce 35,000 MWh of energy per year, almost twice as much as in the past.
Focus

Ferrara, the city of "green" heat

What's Ferrara's green secret? It's underground, where a geothermal basin feeds its district heating system. The result? 87% of the thermal energy distributed in the city is "clean" and we avoid about 22 thousand tonnes of CO 2 emissions.
Focus

Hera and General Electric together for energy recovery

We have installed a turbo expander at the R&M stations of Ducati's factory in Bologna. The goal is to recover electricity from the decompression process of methane gas. 
Focus

Hergo Reti: the smart approach to emergency service and maintenance

More than 130 thousand emergency response reports involving 1,500 employees in 2019. More than 50 thousand emergency response operations in the first six months of 2020, in a local area that includes Emilia-Romagna, Triveneto and Marche.
Focus

Hergoambiente, waste bin speaking

Our 300,000 waste bins are talking. How? Thanks to a "tag" that always tells us where they are, how they are working and if they have been emptied. Find out more about the projects of HergoAmbiente, Hera Group's "smart" system to support waste management services.
Focus

Innovation takes flight and offers a variety of perspectives

Hera Group's drones are alternative and supplemental investigation tools to provide quality services to the areas we serve.
page 1 of 3
— x-items-per-page
showing-x-x-of-x-results

Bilancio bs e be banner

Interactive financial statements and sustainability reports
The consolidated economic results at 31 December 2023 and the 2023 sustainability report were approved by the Board of Directors of the Hera Group on 26 March 2024
Online report Y2023
2023 sustainability report

Pre-Footer Standard

Hera SpA, Viale Carlo Berti Pichat 2/4, 40127 Bologna, Tel.051287111 www.gruppohera.it