- The Enel Group company won the public tender for building, in collaboration with Circet Italia SpA, Europe’s largest self-consumption photovoltaic system at an airport
- The facility will significantly contribute to the energy efficiency process initiated by Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) for the Fiumicino international airport hub and to a reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere equivalent to planting approximately 100,000 trees per year
Rome, June 23rd, 2023 – After being awarded the European public tender issued by Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), Enel X reaffirms its commitment to offering its partners solutions and technologies that successfully integrate innovation and the production of energy from renewable sources, therefore accelerating ADR’s sustainable journey. The Enel Group company dedicated to the development of innovative energy efficiency solutions and services will build the largest self-consumption photovoltaic system in a European airport for ADR, in collaboration with Circet SpA, a leading company in the field of infrastructure development. Located parallel to runway No. 3 at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport, the facility will cover a 340,000-square-meter area with a capacity of 22 MW. When operating at full capacity, it will produce around 32 GWh of renewable energy per year. Once fully operational, the plant will avoid the emissions of more than 11,000 tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere, equivalent to planting approximately 100,000 trees.
“The construction of this new photovoltaic system, which will be the largest in Europe, is a significant step in the now well-established collaboration with Aeroporti di Roma,” said Francesco Venturini, CEO of Enel X. “This operation has never been attempted before in an airport setting, and our leadership in developing cutting-edge technologies in the energy sector will enable us to significantly contribute to reducing Fiumicino Airport’s emissions, thereby further strengthening its position as an excellent world-class airport.”
“We are pursuing one of the most ambitious initiatives in our journey towards sustainable development,” commented Marco Troncone, CEO of ADR, “since this project, by working with Enel X, will make it possible for the largest self-consumption photovoltaic system ever installed at a European airport to produce more than 32 GWh of renewable energy annually. We believe that Italy’s top companies can and must work together in order to transform and relaunch this sector, which is of strategic importance for our country, and to help mitigate climate change.”
ADR, Italy’s leading airport hub and one of the best hubs in the world, as demonstrated by its 5-star Skytrax rating, has chosen to focus on digitalization, security, innovation and environmental sustainability. Over the last few years, it has embarked on a path to zero CO2 emissions by 2030, ahead of the targets set by the European airport sector, which shows its commitment to sustainability and, especially, to fighting climate change. This innovative photovoltaic system will comprise approximately 55,000 state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels as well as related facilities, substations and electrical conduits. It has been designed by taking into account the cutting-edge technologies available in the industry so as to ensure that the installation requirements for such facilities are fully met. Work is scheduled to start by the end of 2023 and will be completed in 2024. The new solar energy plant will be complemented with a storage system based on electric vehicle batteries in their second-life cycle. The 10 MWh storage capacity is the result of the Pioneer- airPort sustaInability secONd lifE battEry stoRage project, which is the first stage of the collaboration between Enel X and ADR, and will help cover any possible energy demand peak at the airport in the evenings. These two projects not only prove that Enel X and ADR are continuing along the path they have chosen, but also strengthen Enel X’s position as a key partner for ADR in the field of energy efficiency.
Enel X Global Retail is the Enel Group’s global business line operating in the field of energy supply and energy management services. World leader in the development of innovative solutions dedicated to accompanying residential consumers, businesses and municipalities throughout the energy transition, Enel X Global Retail offers an ecosystem of modular and integrated products and services, built around customer needs, promoting the electrification of uses and digitalization. Enel X Global Retail manages demand response services with a total capacity of 8.1 GW and has installed 76 MW of behind-the-meter storage as well as over 3 million light points worldwide. Furthermore, it supplies energy to around 67 million customers every day. The Enel X Global Retail ecosystem of solutions is based on a platform business model that includes assets for optimizing and self-producing energy, premium energy efficiency and management solutions as well as competitive and flexible offers, with the aim of helping the customer to define their energy roadmap, accompanying them from the initial consultancy to the implementation of the solutions.
Aeroporti di Roma, a Mundys Group company, operates and develops the Rome Fiumicino and Ciampino airports and carries out other activities connected and complementary to airport management. Fiumicino, the first and only airport in Italy to have been awarded a 5-star Skytrax rating for excellent standards in service quality, has two passenger terminals and caters for business and leisure customers on domestic, international and intercontinental routes; Ciampino is mainly used by low-cost airlines, express couriers, and for general aviation activities. In 2019, ADR recorded, as an airport system, 49.4 million passengers (In 2022, following the impact of Covid-19 on air transport, Fiumicino airport recorded approximately 29.4 million passengers, while Ciampino airport closed the year with 3.5 million passengers). Over the last six years, Aeroporti di Roma has received numerous awards, recognitions and quality certificates. The main ones are the AIRPORT SERVICE QUALITY AWARD, awarded by ACI World for the category of European airports with more than 40 million passengers per year, for the years 2017 to 2022 for the high level of passenger satisfaction, and the ACI EUROPE BEST AIRPORT AWARD in the category of airports with more than 40 million passengers per year, for the years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022: the award, in this case, rewards the achievement of excellence in several disciplines, including security, operations, infrastructure, community relations, environmental awareness and customer care. As a result of these achievements, in 2022 ACI World included ADR in the “Director General’s Roll of Excellence”, a roll of excellence to which only 69 out of more than 18,000 airports worldwide belong for the very high levels of quality offered to their passengers. In 2018, SKYTRAX awarded ADR with the WORLD’S MOST IMPROVED AIRPORT AWARD based on passenger ratings of the services they experienced at various airports around the world. In 2022, ADR received the BEST AIRPORT STAFF IN EUROPE AWARD, awarded once again by Skytrax, for meeting specific parameters such as the friendliness and efficiency of customer service staff at the airport. In 2020, ADR also distinguished itself in the area of sustainability by receiving the LEADERSHIP IN SUSTAINABILITY AND COMMITMENT TO RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL from the United Nations World Tourism Organization. As for innovation, in 2021, in connection with the SESAR - Single European Sky project, ADR was awarded the ACI EUROPE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AWARD, recognizing the airport’s investment in the newly-built Airport Operation Center and the implementation of the new innovation model based on Open Innovation. In 2022 Plug and Play Tech Center, the largest private investment fund in Silicon Valley, awarded ADR the “Corporate Innovation Award” for its commitment to promoting open innovation initiatives and building an innovative “airport of the future”.