Thu, 11 May, 2023
TWI, a member of a group of organisations working towards developing sustainable geothermal energy solutions, recently participated in the second COMPASS project meeting and general assembly held in Larderello, Italy.
The meeting was hosted by COSVIG (the Consortium for the Development of Geothermal Areas) and brought together project partners from various disciplines related to geothermal energy production.
During the meeting, project partners reviewed the progress made since the project's launch in November and celebrated the milestones achieved.
The COMPASS project aims to engage with local communities in geothermal areas to address public acceptance issues related to geothermal projects. The consortium will implement and test a process for community engagement through COSVIG that will serve as one of the project's lighthouse case studies, which can be replicated in other geothermal territories.
As part of the COMPASS project, TWI is collaborating closely with Hornet Laser Cladding to create an internal bore cladding system at TWI's Yorkshire Technology Centre. Upon completion of the installation, TWI will utilise the EHLA (Extreme High-speed Laser Application) high-speed cladding technique to develop corrosion protection for the casing pipes.
Larderello, considered the world's cradle of geothermal energy, provided an excellent backdrop for the meeting. The COMPASS team visited the Larderello geothermal museum and the Enel Green Power geothermal power plant, gaining insights into Italy's long history and pioneering role in geothermal energy production. Geothermal energy has an installed capacity of 916 MWe in Larderello and Mount Amiata areas in Tuscany, covering 34% of the whole regional electricity demand, and providing heat to about 13,000 users through district heating systems in 9 municipalities.
The next steps for the COMPASS consortium will be to continue implementing and testing the community engagement process in geothermal areas and to share their findings with other geothermal territories.
The event demonstrated the consortium's commitment to developing sustainable geothermal energy solutions through collaboration and innovation.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº. 101084623.