Geogreen: Open doors at Campignano power plant

Today, on 22 March 2019, UN World Water Day, the doors were open at the Geogreen Campignano hydroelectric power plant in the Upper Seriana Valley. The event was attended by many people, attracted by the opportunity to see in person how a hydroelectric power plant actually works, starting from the diversion canal on the left bank of the Serio River. Participants enjoyed a day of guided tours and in-depth presentations on sustainability.  Moreover, the occasion brought together several attendees from local authorities, municipalities, the province and other local entities.

Morning activities were reserved for schools – students from the Gazzaniga technical high school, ISISS Val Seriana, – and local institutions, while in the afternoon open access sessions, including guided tours of the power plant, were held for all citizens wishing to learn about energy production from a renewable source.

 “The Campignano power plant fits harmoniously into the surrounding environment,” pointed out Massimo De Petro, managing director of the Geogreen Group, “and makes its contribution to sustainable development by supplying green energy to a number of local manufacturers, chiefly RadiciGroup.  We operate with full respect for the environment, in collaboration with local governments and in a manner transparent to local communities. Quite often, we organize educational tours for local schools, striving to instil in the students a commitment to water conservation and correct water management. We share this approach with RadiciGroup, to which we supply electric power to run production facilities in its Specialty Chemicals, High Performance Polymers and Synthetic Fibres&Nonwovens Business Areas, and we are both deeply convinced that energy efficiency is  a corporate value.”

The Campignano hydroelectric power plant, dating to the 1940s, is located in the municipality of Parre, in the Province of Bergamo. The plant harnesses and uses the waters of the Serio River flowing through the municipality of Villa d'Ogna (BG). Towards the end of the 1980s, the plant was acquired by the Radici family, who have made technological improvements to the site over the years.

The hydroelectric unit is equipped with a vertical Kaplan turbine with 1,560 kW installed power and an average production of 8 million kWh per year – an amount equal to the electricity consumption of over 3,000 families, thus avoiding the emission of 4,600 tons of CO2.

Mr. De Petro concluded: “We are always looking for new hydroelectric initiatives that can further meet the needs of RadiciGroup and all our customers for renewable energy.” The recent investment in the Campignano DMV power plant was made with this objective in mind. This small plant utilizes the environmental flow of the nearby Campignano hydroelectric power plant, so as not to dissipate clean energy. Annual production is about 350,000 kWh, equal to the energy requirements of 130 families. Hence the emission of 190 tons di CO2 into the atmosphere is avoided.

Sustainability is the foundation of all business activities in the Radici/Geogreen world, starting from real-time monitoring of all parameters of its hydroelectric concessions to close attention to biodiversity, in particular, fish life.