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First radial turbine centrifuge installed in binary plant in Bagnore, Italy

First radial turbine centrifuge installed in binary plant in Bagnore, Italy Exergy CEO Claudio Spadacini (source: Exergy)
Alexander Richter 19 Jun 2013

The first radial centrifugal turbine has been installed in a binary geothermal power plant. The turbine was provided by Exergy for the plant operated by Enel Green Power Plant in Bagnore, Mount Amiata, Italy.

In recent news it is reported that “for the first time anywhere in the world, a radial centrifugal turbine has been installed in a binary geothermal power plant. Operating at the Enel Green Power Plant in Bagnore, Mount Amiata, the plant is a giant leap forward for green energy and was designed and produced in Italy thanks to the innovation of Italian Engineering firm Exergy.

The radial turbine is the flagship product for Exergy, an Italian company within the Maccaferri Industrial Group. Exergy are boldly focused on bringing geothermal energy into the future. The CEO of Exergy Claudio Spadacini said, “In choosing the Exergy product, Enel Green Power have made an important step towards the future of green energy and Italian production. Exergy has designed and built a turbine ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) centrifugal radial flow which is completely new in the area of geothermal energy exploration.” Continues Spadacini, “The technology installed for Enel Green Power at Bagnore on Monte Amiata can produce electricity up to 1 MW using the heat from a geothermal source.”

The Exergy turbine in operation at the Enel Green Power plant provides superior energy efficiency compared to traditional solutions. This is due to Exergy’s technological innovation which allows access to the geothermal sources previously thought unusable, due to their low temperature of the primary fluid (100-180 degrees).

The plant installed in Bagnore is of a binary type and uses a heat exchanger to transfer heat from the primary fluid (water mixed with steam) that comes out from the well to a secondary organic fluid. This vaporizes and turns the turbine connected to the alternator. The primary fluid is reintroduced into the ground while the cycle ORC itself is closed.

The Bagnore plant, which uses a previously untapped spring, produces electricity with zero impact to approximately 2500 households, avoiding the emission of 4,200 tons of CO2 and the consumption of 1,600 tons of oil equivalent.

Exergy is a subsidiary of SECI Energia, a sub-holding of the Maccaferri Group. Exergy offer ORC turbines with radial centrifugal from 500 kWe to 5000 kWe for applications such cogeneration and generation of electricity, as well as complete solutions tailored for large plants.

Enel Green Power is part of the Enel Group, and is dedicated to the development and management of power generation from renewable sources. They are one of the world’s largest operators in the area of power generation from renewable sources. Their annual production is in the range of 22.5 billion kWh, produced mainly from water, sun, wind and geothermal energy. Enel energy meet the needs of more than 8 million households each year and avert the production of more than 16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

(Translated from La Stampa newspaper article 10th June, 2013)