The Cassano d'Adda plant
The Thermoelectric Plant at Cassano d'Adda stands alongside the Muzza Canal on an area covering 220,000 m2, approximately 2 km away from the town taking the same name.
The Plant has an installed capacity of approximately 1,000 MW, and is made up of one 155 MW (Group 4) turbogas combined-cycle generator with a 75 MW (Group 1) steam turbine, and two 255 MW (Group 5 and Group 6) turbogas combined-cycle generators with a steam turbine (Group 2) which produces 260 MW).
Since its construction (which dates back to with a Group 1 75 MW capacity steam turbine), the power plant has always been at the forefront of technological development and is continuously evolving; in 1984, it underwent a first expansion phase (320 MW capacity Group 2 steam turbines) and was architectonically restyled by the architect, Mario Bellini
Since 1992, a series of interventions have been made aimed at improving its overall emission performance; initially thanks to work on steam generators (gas reburning and electrostatic precipitators) and later thanks to the adoption of combined cycle technologies.
In June 2001, a 155 MW combined cycle turbogas generator with a Group 1 75 MW steam turbine became operative, replacing the steam generators, as foreseen by the plant’s environmental development and expansion plan approved by the Ministry for Industry. A reduction in pollution and considerable energy saving were achieved by using only natural gas to power the plant, bringing about a proportionate reduction in energy consumed to operate the plant equivalent to the energy produced.
In October 2003, a Group 5 turbogas generator was inaugurated combined-cycle with the previously existing Group 2 steam turbine, replacing the 320 MW steam turbine from the conventional group, with 380 MW capacity while guaranteeing high efficiency and low emissions.
When the Group 5 became operative, the sue of dense fuel oil became redundant as it was replaced with natural gas.
Today, the new turbogas Group 6 generator is operative, twinned with the Group 5 generator, in combined cycle with the same steam turbine, adds a further 380 MW to the previously installed generators, which brings the overall capacity of the plant to approximately 1,000 MW.
Thanks to the installation of the new turbogas generators, a further improvement has been made to the environment; in fact, as a result of an agreement with the General Electric manufacturing company, for the first time new burners using "Dry Low NOx 2.6+” technology guaranteeing extremely low NOx emissions were installed to Class 9FA gas turbines that are capable of complying with the limit of 30 mg/Nm3 of nitrogen oxide emissions.
After experimental operations at the Cassano d’Adda plant, this new combustion system has become an industrial reality and it was also installed to Group 5 in 2007, creating a highly efficient 760 MW combined cycle with extremely low nitrogen oxide emissions.
This is another step forward in protecting the environment while achieving a high level of production efficiency, which together, make the Cassano plant one of the best in Europe.
