MILAN, June 25 (Reuters) - The renewable unit of energy group Enel (ENEI.MI) New Tab, opens new tab has started up a solar plant with an installed capacity of around 87 megawatt (MW), making it the biggest in northern Italy, the company said on Tuesday.

Local residents helped to pay for the solar project through a crowd-funding campaign launched in 2022 and will start to recoup their investment following the start of operations.

Last year Enel's smaller rival Edison (EDNn.MI) New Tab, opens new tab inaugurated a new hydroelectric power station partly financed by the local community and its wider customer base.

The latest project is located in the town of Trino, in Piedmont in the northwest, on a site that was home to a nuclear power plant until the country voted in 1987 to ban the production of atomic energy. It comprises 160,000 photo-voltaic panels.

Until last year, Italy's energy transition had largely consisted of the installation of myriad rooftop solar panels, a small-scale strategy which has kept the country's power generation costs high and slowed its path towards decarbonisation.

The Trino solar farm will produce approximately 130 gigawatt hour (GWh) per year, providing green energy to meet power needs of roughly 47,000 households, Enel said in a statement.

The plant is also equipped with a 25 MW battery energy storage system with a storage capacity of 100 megawatt hour (MWh). An additional, larger storage system is scheduled for installation at the site in the near future.

Italy's right-wing coalition last month approved rules aimed at curbing the installation of solar panels on agricultural land, triggering criticism that it could undermine Rome's decarbonisation goals.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/locals-help-enel-launch-northern-italys-largest-solar-plant-2024-06-25/