Overview

The Ferrara waste to energy plant is located inside the “geothermal energy” complex, where Ferrara's district heating plant is also located. The plant, which has been operating since 1994, recovers the heat generated by burning waste and converts it into electricity and thermal energy. Indeed, waste to energy plants are incinerators that allow the heat of combustion to be converted into energy, taking advantage of the renewable fuel present in waste.

  The district heating plant's operations can be adjusted based on climatic conditions and user consumption. If needed, part of the steam generated by combustion is discharged from the turbine and transfers energy to the adjacent district heating plant. The main purpose is to produce, accumulate and distribute thermal energy to the residential network from three sources: geothermal energy, waste to energy treatment and the methane gas plant.

  Of the production sources used by the district heating plant, the waste to energy plant is in second place in terms of priority of intervention. The first generation source is the thermal energy originating from geothermal fluid, extracted from the subsoil through two wells. A third source, used to produce hot water, is the heating plant consisting of seven methane fuelled boilers, which are used only in the event that the first two sources are insufficient to meet the demand.

  The waste to energy plant has been using two new waste to energy lines since 2008. These were built, in accordance with the provincial waste management programme, to handle the disposal of unseparated municipal waste and non hazardous special waste produced in the province of Ferrara. The maximum authorised capacity is 142,000 tonnes per year of non hazardous municipal and special waste.

  Page update 14 September 2022