An important showcase project for a biomass plant to be built in Bazzano Sud, near L’Aquila, and many “dreams” and relatively concrete plans being developed abroad: Antonio Nidoli, President and CEO of Ma&D Power Engineering, certainly does not want to keep these in the closet. His company has been operating in the green economy sector for some years now, managing to successfully develop the environmental capacities and resources with which Italy is naturally gifted. We asked him if investing in clean energy was a choice that paid off economically and what the future had in store for his company.

Mr. Nidoli, what does it mean for a company like yours to have invested in the green economy?

It has certainly been an important choice, because we used to conduct engineering activities through third parties, but in recent years we have developed our own sustainability energy projects (for solid and liquid biomass in particular), which has led us to take the most advantage of a potential that is still underestimated in Italy.

What has the biomass plant project in L’Aquila meant for Ma&D Power Engineering?

It is a very important development model that could also be applied to other realities in the future. We have been working there since 2007, long before the area was hit by the serious earthquake of 6^th April 2009, and the plant is particularly important because at full capacity it will provide employment for around 100 people who live in the area and provide incentive for the development of local energy. We have basically managed to plan a strategy that should serve as an incentive to the so-called short supply chain, with very positive consequences for the local community.

With which foreign countries do you have particular relations?

One of the foreign countries for which we have great expectations is Albania. We have always had faith in it, even when it was not easy to do so, and we chose to invest resources and managerial skills there. We have made an important 130 million-Euro investment in the area towards the north of the country, near the border with Serbia and Kosovo, to build a hydroelectric plant that will have a full energy production capacity of 80 Megawatts. We are also working in Romania, on district heating plants that are fuelled on solid biomass. These plants already exist, but until now have been running on fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas).

And what does the future hold?

We have had positive contacts with some African states, Tanzania and Mozambique in particular, where there is an enormous potential in the field of renewable and hydroelectric energy that has never yet been tapped. These countries have experienced rapid population growth through the years, which has made the problem of the availability of clean energy even more evident. The meetings that we have recently held with members of NGOs working in these areas and local community representatives have given us very positive feedback. We hope that all of this does not simply remain a discussion but can soon be put into action.