Commissioner Piebalgs visits construction site of innovative clean coal plant in Italy

Brussels, 16 October 2006

Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs will visit today the construction site of Torrevaldaliga Nord project, an advanced clean coal power plant in the Italian town of Civitavecchia, near Rome. The project has recently won the Powergen Award. "Clean coal technologies contribute to the three core objectives of the new European Energy Policy: security of supply, fight against climate change and competitiveness of the European economy. The development of low carbon plants, like this one in Civitavecchia, should be one of the common EU objectives that the Commission wants to put forward in its EU Strategic Energy Review", Commissioner Piebalgs said.

In the Torrevaldaliga Nord project, the Italian electricity retailer Enel will transform a fuel oil plant into a clean coal by adopting emissions-abatement technologies. The new power plant will contribute not only to reduce emissions levels by up to 80%, but also to promote a more balanced fuel mix in the production of electricity in Italy.

The visit to the Torrevaldaliga Nord project, takes place in the framework of an official visit of Commissioner Piebalgs to Italy to participate in a Round Table on the Green Paper on energy, focussing on supply security and integration of the European markets. Italian Energy Minister Bersani together with the CEOs of ENI, Paolo Scaroni, ENEL, Fulvio Conti, and AEM Giuliano Zuccoli, and the Vice President of Cofindustria, Emma Marcegaglia.

This will be one of the last contributions to the debate on the Green Paper, before the adoption of an ambitious energy package in January 2007. The package will include the first EU Strategic Energy Review with an in-depth analysis of the European energy mix, with common objectives to work towards a lower carbon energy system.

Commissioner Piebalgs will also meet the Italian Minister for Trade and European Affairs, Emma Bonino, and the President of the Italian Energy Regulator, Alessandro Ortis. Finally, Commissioner Piebalgs will have a public hearing before the competent committees in the Italian Parliament.