On 31st July the Council of Ministers, despite the clear NO expressed by the regions of Umbria and Lazio, by the municipalities of the district and by the population, gave its consent to continuation of construction of the ‘Castel Giorgio’ pilot plant for research into geothermal resources, proposed by ITW-LKW Geotermia Italia.
Municipalities and associations will appeal against this decision in national courts and European institutions. The regions are also considering an appeal.
On 5th August in Castel Giorgio, in front of a public made up of inhabitants of the Alfina Plateau and Lake Bolsena basin, Diego Righini, General Manager of ITW-LKW, presented the power plant project, extolling its main features: the first of its kind in Italy, with a closed cycle and no emissions into the atmosphere, clean and renewable energy production without harming the environment. Those present addressed numerous critical remarks to the manager, refuting his reassurances with scientific arguments, first and foremost the statement that the plant will have “zero seismicity” (see here for a detailed discussion).
On 16th August many people in Torre Alfina expressed their opposition to geothermal energy in their territory. It was the first step towards raising the funds necessary to finance appeals to the TAR (Regional Administrative Court): about 200 people participated in a walk in Alfina and 100 attended a dinner at the Pulicaro farm.
Other fundraising events will follow, a bank account will be opened for voluntary contributions and a crowdfunding campaign will be launched on the web.
BLEU will be at the forefront in defending our territory from the current attempt to transform it into an area of widespread industrial exploitation: in the agriculture sector with the introduction of hazelnut monoculture, in the energy sector with geothermal exploitation and in the water sector with the transfer of water management to multinationals.
We have a precise vision in opposition to this industrialization: the protection of water resources and the environment and the enhancement of local excellence as the basis for eco-sustainable tourism and agriculture.
