Saline Joniche, 8,9 MW Solar Plant directly connected to the railway infrastructure
The Saline Joniche solar power plant is the fourth to be directly connected to the railway infrastructure.
The plant covers approximately 85,000 m² and comprises over 19,000 modules, with a total capacity of 8.91 MWp and an estimated annual output of 14 GWh.
The Saline Joniche photovoltaic plant was built over a major run-down industrial site.
The project, built on the ruins of the Officina Grandi Riparazioni (OGR), is a clear example of FS Group’s industrial strategy to create sustainable production facilities in brownfield sites, redeveloping disused areas that were abandoned.
To understand how an industrial site spreading more than 400,000 square metres fell in disuse, we must take a step back, in 1970.
On that year, the Reggio revolt occurred in Reggio Calabria, triggered by the government decision to make Catanzaro as the new regional capital of Calabria.
To ease social tensions and provide economic support for the Reggio area, the then Prime Minister Emilio Colombo launched a major public investment programme, which went down in history as the Colombo Package.
Purpose of the programme was creating thousands of jobs through large-scale industry and infrastructure projects.
The main interventions included:
- A steelworks centre in Gioia Tauro (which was never built)
- Liquichimica in Saline Joniche
- The industrial port
- New mechanical and railway facilities, including the OGR
The plant opened in 1989, and it featured advanced technology and industrial buildings spreading over almost 10 hectares.
However, the plant never reached full operational capacity and, in 2001 – after just twelve years of operation, following a rationalisation of the maintenance facilities – the hub was closed.
The hope of the Ferrovie Group and all those involved is that the Saline solar power plant will be a new beginning for the area’s redevelopment and regeneration.
