A public auction convened last summer awarded Italgen with a significant supply contract: 14.5 GWh/year of green energy will light up all the airport facilities (the main buildings, hangars and control towers) and the new headquarters. The production, coming from Palazzolo sull'Oglio hydropower plant, will be certified by the system “Guarantee of Origin” (GO), attesting the supply of electricity from renewable sources.

The provision is esteemed to be equal to the needs of 4,800 households, allowing an annual saving of 7,000 tons of CO2 and 19,000 oil barrels.

"We are proud to provide the international airport of Orio al Serio with green energy contributing to promote Sustainability - said Giuseppe De Beni, Managing Director of Italgen. The respect for the environment has always been part of our company’s DNA. We have been producing electricity from renewables for more than a hundred years and hopefully beyond".

Thanks to a recent revamping, Palazzolo sull'Oglio hydropower plant has significantly improved the availability rate of water resources for power generation.

Built in the 1950s, its main equipment includes: the intake structure and its weir, the free surface diversion channel, turbines, generators and control panels.
 

In 2013, Italgen’s hydropower plants produced about 310 GWh of electricity entirely from renewable sources.
 

All hydropower plants are registered EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme), a voluntary compliance tool to improve the environmental performance and disclose results on a proper environmental management.