POWER-PRODUCTION OPTIONS FROM BIOMASS - THE VISION OF A SOUTHERN EUROPEAN UTILITY

In the medium term, vegetable biomass can contribute significantly in an environmentally compatible way to the energy needs of the world pro vided that a substantial progress of technologies for their conversion and final use is achieved. In the frame of the R&D activities promote d by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC), ENEL, the Itali an national electricity authority, is contributing to the technologica l assessment and development in the field of electricity production fr om biomass. The activity includes crop-production tests and several in itiatives in both direct combustion and thermochemical conversion. Spe cific reasons for interest in this kind of energy resource in Italy ar e outlined.