Italian Energy Group Edison has inaugurated an innovative power station near Venice which reduces harmful emissions, using hydrogen (H₂) mixed with natural gas.

The Porto Marghera (VE) facility is the most efficient thermoelectric power plant in Italy and among the most efficient in the world, the first latest-generation facility of its kind, contributing to the country’s energy transition. The company says that the plant is an important milestone for the security of the Italian energy system, ensuring a highly flexible, low-carbon production that balances the intermittent nature of renewable sources, thus contributing to the achievement of the country’s decarbonization targets set by the PNIEC.

The new plant of Marghera is a revamping of an existing thermoelectric power plant, built in 1964 and constantly renewed in terms of technology, so much so that in 1992 it became the first natural gas combined-cycle in Italy. Construction work took 4 yr to complete, employing up to 1,000 workers during peak times and 250 suppliers, for a total investment of around €400 MM.

The plant has an installed capacity of 780 MW and an energy efficiency of 63%, the highest output currently available, able to ensure a reduction of specific emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x mg/kWh) by up to 70% and of carbon emissions (CO₂ mg/kWh) by up to 30% compared to the current average of the Italian thermoelectric park, satisfying the equivalent annual needs of about 2 MM families.

“We are proud to be the first, once again, to lead innovation in Italy thanks to a latest-generation plant that is highly strategic for the flexibility and adequacy of the national electricity system. A goal we set as a responsible operator, leader in the country's energy transition. Edison has in its DNA the ability to innovate, as reflected in its 140 years of industrial leadership. And, today, we celebrate this important milestone thanks to the synergies with Veneto, a highly dynamic region, and our partnership with an Italian excellence such as Ansaldo Energia,” says Edison Chief Executive Officer, Nicola Monti.

“Our Group has an investment plan amounting to €10 B between now and 2030 dedicated to the energy transition, half of which for the growth in renewable energy. And the new plant of Marghera is a tangible proof of how different technologies can work towards the common goal of decarbonization, to ensure security of energy supply and economic sustainability.”

“The construction of the new power plant in Marghera meant a major challenge, in particularly complex years, first due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then to the high volatility of the markets. In spite of everything, we have continued to work with determination, aware that the new Marghera Levante plant is a strategic asset for the country to enable grid balancing and at the same time to accelerate the development of two new installations from renewables, to which we are also committed with ambitious growth targets,” says Executive Vice President and Head of Edison Power Asset Division, Marco Stangalino. “For us at Edison, Marghera Levante is a record-breaking plant: it was the Group’s first thermoelectric power plant in the 1960s, the first gas turbine power plant with class-E turbines in 1992, and the first one with class-F turbines in 2001. Having been constantly upgraded, it is now the first plant of its kind in Italy, thanks to the outstanding work of local businesses and Edison people alike, who made it possible to complete the revamping without interrupting the supply of electricity to the system and technological steam to the surrounding chemical hub.”

“It gives us great satisfaction to see our first GT36 ready to support the country’s electricity production. This latest-generation turbine is a highly performing machine characterized by unprecedented technological innovation, also in terms of green fuels,” says Ansaldo Energia Chief Executive Officer, Fabrizio Fabbri. “We do not hide our pride in having collaborated with Edison on such an important project and we hope this is just the first of many opportunities and strategic partnerships to come.”

Edison’s new 780-MW natural gas combined-cycle of Marghera Levante consists of a 515-MW class 'H' turbine from Ansaldo Energia—technologically ready for the use of up to 50% H₂ mixed with natural gas—a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) with a catalytic system for the reduction of nitrogen oxides (SCR) inside, and a 265-MW steam turbine (TVB). The revamp involved dismantling gas turbines TG3 and TG4, which had been installed in 1992, heat recovery steam generators GVR3 and GVR4, steam turbine TV1, and steam generator B2.

The plant’s structure itself was also rationalized, reducing the number of chimneys from five to three, with an improved visual impact as a result. When the new production set-up became fully operational, the 2001 TG5 and TV2 generating sets, which ensured the continuity of steam supply to the plants in the Marghera industrial area and of electricity to the national grid during the construction phase, were kept in reserve as a backup in the event of plant maintenance.

The Marghera Levante plant, now fully operational, currently employs approximately 40 people, including the operation and maintenance team and other corporate staff. With 7.2 GW of installed capacity distributed across the country, Edison covers 7% of the Italian electricity production. It is an integrated operator along the electricity value chain: from power generation to plant operation and maintenance, to sale to end customers. In 2022, Edison produced 19.7 TWh of electricity, including 3.4 TWh of green energy (wind, photovoltaic and hydroelectric), which enabled it to avoid the emissions of 1.7 MM metric t of CO₂ into the atmosphere, thanks also to energy efficiency solutions. Edison's production park is made up of 107 hydroelectric power plants, 53 wind parks, 56 photovoltaic parks and 14 highly efficient combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants, which balance the intermittency of renewable sources.