Visit to the S.P.E.R. of Dittaino (ENNA)

To better understand Goal 7 of Agenda 2030, “Affordable and clean energy”, on October the 30^th,we went to visit the S.P.E.R., a thermoelectric plant near Enna. It uses wood and wood wastes to produce electricity and it sells it to an electrical Company, the Terna, which distributes electricity to public bodies and private people. We understood how important is the production of clean energy reducing to the minimum wastes and pollution. We had the opportunity to understand the complete production cycle from the arrival of raw materials like wood and wood wastes to their burning till the use of hot water and steam. Steam is in fact turned into kinetic energy and then, by means of a generator, into electric energy. We visited the different areas of the plant from the supervising office to the heavy machinery used for the production. We discovered that it is a closed circuit since once steam is transformed into kinetic energy and then into electricity, it is turned again into water and a new cycle can start, reducing the consumption of water. We also understood the potential dangers of such a big plant. In fact, there are risks linked to the hot temperatures, to the raw materials, to chemical liquids used to purify water and to the machinery present in this industry.