In this Italian city, bills cost half as much as they do

In the heart of Tuscany, in the province of Pisa, lies the small village of Larderello, part of the municipality of Pomarance. Its fortunate position on the metalliferous hills of central Italy certainly offers suggestive landscapes but this is not the only advantage for the inhabitants of the area. The town, in fact, is partly owned by Enel and the production of geothermal energy it amounts to about 10% of that worldwide. A wealth that is transformed into substantial savings in the energy bills of all users of the city and the entire territory.

As the inhabitants themselves declare, the district heating manages to halve the costs in the bill with considerable economic advantages. In addition, the overall system that gravitates around geothermal production proves to be excellent at the regional level sector of use. Between direct and indirect employees, in fact, the plant employs about four thousand people. Thus, Tuscany relies on geothermal power from Larderello to cover approximately 30% of its energy needs (data: Cgil Toscana).

A small example of the potential of this precious form of energy that could open new horizons for the future, especially in times when the ecological transition it becomes more and more urgent. The satisfaction for citizens, net of occasional breakdowns, is manifold, but the economic factor is undoubtedly the driving force in the choice to switch to district heating. According to the testimonies of the inhabitants, it would be at least the 90% of the population local to now use the geothermal.

The Tuscan geothermal production currently amounts to approx 6 Terawatt hour of electricity per year and has over thirty power plants spread across the Pisan territory. It is clear, therefore, how local authorities – through CGil Toscana – complain about the lack of attention in the PNNR towards the development of geothermal energy which, never mentioned, is not supported in its development. A real missed opportunity for one green resource very precious for the entire national territory.