Italian renewable energy companies Enel Green Power and SECI Energia will develop a new 30MW biomass power project in the town of Russi, near Ravenna in Italy.

The two companies will develop the Powercrop biomass project with an investment of €126m in an industrial area previously occupied by the Eridania sugar refinery.

The 30MW power project, which will run on locally-sourced chipped virgin wood, will require 270,000t of fuel per annum. The project is expected to have a total annual output of 222GWh, enough to meet the needs of 84,000 households.

It will provide more than 300 direct and indirect jobs, in addition to the 200 workers who will be building the facility.

The facility will also have a biogas plant with a power generation capacity of 1MW. The plant will require 18,000t of corn silage and 26,000t of pig manure per annum from local producers.

Fully developing the local agriculture and forestry supply chains, and optimising the use of clippings and agricultural residues through the construction of new plants is in line with the EU recommendation on the use of biomasses as one of the key ways of ensuring the security of supply and sustainable energy in Europe.

In March 2013, Enel Green Power and SECI Energia signed the definitive agreement to acquire 50% of Powercrop.

With this acquisition, Enel Green Power has entered into a partnership with SECI Energia to develop energy from the biomass short supply chain by building five new plants with a total installed capacity of 150MW.

The five new plants include 31MW Russi, 50MW Macchiareddu, 19MW Castiglion Fiorentino, 19MW Fermo and 30MW Avezzano.