Sardinia’s role in creating clean Gas Powered electricty

The Project

On March 18th, Avenir LNG’s CEO, Peter Mackey, has proposed to the Italian government the construction of a Natural Gas-powered energy power plant, close to the company’s LNG deposit in the port of Santa Giusta in Sardinia.

In the wake of recent gas supply shortages, the Italian government has been evaluating alternatives to fill this gap. In this context, Santa Giusta might become one of the few Natural Gas electricity generation centers on the Island. This is good news for both the environment and to decrease the current reliance on pipeline gas.

This type of gas can be transported via ships and is less prone to disruption. Since the first ship docked in Santa Giusta last summer, the deposit has been mainly stocked with LNG from both Croatia and Malaysia.

The Technology

As of now, the majority of Sardinia’s electricity comes from coal, oil and partially renewable sources like hydroelectric, photovoltaic and wind farms. Coal and fossil fuels whilst being a cheap method of energy production, produces high CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, the energy produced from natural gas is much cleaner, as the overall greenhouse gasses emitted in the process are much less compared to coal.

Reportedly, the Avenir LNG plan put on the table two main proposals: the first focuses on the construction of a temporary land-based powerplant, right beside the GAS deposits in Santa Giusta Port; the second is the construction of the powerplant on floating barges, berthed along the port quays.

Electricity will be produced thanks to a single combined-cycle turbine, potentially achieving an estimated output of 250MW, at 100% capacity. Given that the average 4 people Italian family consumption is of 2700KWh per year, this plant could theoretically cover the electricity needs of hundreds of thousands of households each year.

Sardinia’s role as in producing GAS powered electricity

Rumor has it that Avenir’s CEO has also assured the national government that the initial investment will be backed with the company’s own resources, in exchange for political cooperation and support, essential in speeding up the power plants’ installation process.

This could potentially be up and running by the end of 2022.

The shipping industry is capable of astounding innovations, with new technologies meeting new and more demanding challenges. However, to bring to life this type of projects, keeping up with the changes in the regulations and the local shipping environment are essential.

Star Sardinia offers its decade-long experience in logistics and its vast network of local partners, providing its quality-certified shipping agency services to the development of innovative projects. Furthering its committement to the sustainability and the most efficent use of energy resource and technologies respecting the environmet.

Our next focus will be on the role of floating storage regasification unit in Sardinia by SNAM.