Description

Stream 1) Value Recovery

As EGP&TGx, we are recycling around the 60% of waste produced. The zero-waste project is the most important project that collects all the initiatives implemented within EGP&TG.  

The following initiatives, based on circular economy criteria, have already put in place:

• mineral oil recycling; 
• the sale of scrap from the demolition of power plants; 
• the recycling of wind blades; 
• the sale of spare parts and equipment; 
• the sale of ashes and gypsum.
  

THE CHALLENGE

Value Recovery stream

The challenge is looking for innovative or alternative solutions with respect to the ones currently in use. The new solutions must:

• increase the percentage of waste/materials/component recovery (e.g solar panels, batteries, electronics devices, concrete);
  
• improve waste collection and diversification, preferably without increasing the effort needed to recover value internally for energy and materials streams.
  

Stream 2) Repair and Improvement

Repairing components is a well-known practice within Enel, since a lot of equipment is repaired, internally or externally, instead of being replaced. 

Most of the time, the components are repaired ex situ (e.g. hydroturbines or minor and main components of wind turbines) through traditional techniques.

THE CHALLENGE 

Stream Repair and Improvement

In order to increase and improve our repair approach, EGP&TGx is looking for new innovative solutions or approaches with respect to those already in place that can: 

• increase the number and type of equipment repaired and/or reduce the consumption of materials used for the repair (e.g use of additive manufacturing, in situ machining, etc.); 

• decrease repair costs (i.e. through new repair service contracts, equipment rental instead of ownership, etc.); 

• repair components that are currently not repaired but replaced.

Example: At geothermal power plants, Enel has started to repair impellers of gas extractors and rotors of 20MW and 60 MW turbines through additive manufacturing, which previously couldn't be rehabilitated through conventional processes. 

Stream 3) Sharing

Sharing practice is quite new within the Enel Generation Business Line because assets are often complex plants that must be operated by expert people and cannot therefore be shared with the external public as can be done with cars or laundry sharing services. In spite of this, we can apply forms of sharing to our assets and some countries are trying to use parts of power plants, like auxiliary production systems, to meet the needs of industries in the area, as is done for example in Peru and Chile, where demineralized water production plants are operated to meet the demineralized water needs of industries located close to the power plant. In this way, the plant keeps working during the shutdown period, increasing its operation time and, in a way, it is shared with external stakeholders.  

Other examples include sharing the land of our renewable plants are located on, for example floating photovoltaic plants where PV panels are laid on the water basin of a hydroelectric dam or agri-photovoltaics, where a PV power plant’s land is shared for agricultural purposes: both very interesting examples of land sharing where two or more stakeholders can get economic benefits from the same territory. 

THE CHALLENGE 

Stream Sharing

With this challenge, Enel Green Power and Thermal Generation is looking for new ideas, or solutions already applied outside Enel, for the possible implementation of the sharing practice in our business line, taking into account all of the technologies we operate in different countries.

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy;
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure;
• SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable;
• SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts;
• SDG 15: Life on land.