Leading Italian textile company and White Energy Group win, first in the ranking, the Lombardy Region’s call for photovoltaic incentives

A successful industrial partnership on the path toward the energy transition of Italian companies. It is the one between Cotonificio Zambaiti, Italy’s leading textile company, and White Energy Group, an energy services company (Esco) based in Verona and Cagliari, which the Cotonificio has relied on to embark on a path toward sustainability, energy independence and reduced emissions from its plants.

Thus the project for the plant in Cene(Bergamo) won first place in the ranking list, out of more than 120 beneficiaries, of the call launched by the Lombardy Region for incentives on the reduction of energy consumption by companies and the installation of photovoltaic systems with possible storage systems, to be used for self-consumption, with a significant contribution.

The new 999 kilowatt peak (KWp) photovoltaic system and 250 kilowatt-hours (KWh) of storage, together with other upgrades to the thermal power plant, will bring the plant a 47 percent reduction in dependence on the electricity grid, an 18 percent reduction in dependence on gas consumption (over 250 thousand standard cubic meters – smc – per year) and over a thousand tons of CO2 less each year.

“Our plant in Cene produces household linens, quilts, and semi-finished fabrics, distributed in Italy under its own brands (Happidea ®, Cassera Casa ®) or for large third-party brands,” stresses Angelo Zambaiti, Ceo of Cotonificio Zambaiti. “In our nearly 55 years of existence, we have always been attentive to the quality of our products, made using natural fibers and non-toxic and certified dyes, as well as eco-sustainable padding from recycled PET. We are a well-established business that operates with highly technological and specialized facilities that ensure full respect for the surrounding area and special attention to environmental protection “.

On this long-standing path, in May 2021 Cotonificio Zambaiti chose White Energy Group to continue this process of improving its efficiency and reducing emissions.

“The project started in July 2021 with an initial energy audit on the Cene plant,” explains Franco Asuni, chief business development of Whitenergy. “ Through our VEP (Virtual Energy Platform) measurement system for monitoring the main consumptions, it was possible to define a technical analysis of the first four months. As a result, two first interventions were identified, which in total allow a saving of more than a thousand tons of CO2 per year “.

THE PROJECT.

In detail, the two interventions into which the project is divided concern, on the one hand, the upgrading of the thermal power plant, with the elimination of the thermal oil boiler, replaced with a direct-generation steam generator, and, on the other hand, the new photovoltaic solar power plant, coupled with an energy storage system.

Construction of the solar photovoltaic plant will begin in the next few months and when fully operational it will produce about 1.2 million kilowatt hours per year, leading to a 40 percent reduction in dependence on the national grid for the plant’s annual consumption (daytime and evening). “The photovoltaic installation, with an important storage system (capacity of 254 KWh), will also allow a high percentage of self-consumption, estimated at more than 83 percent,” Asuni points out, “helping to improve the company’s energy independence levels and environmental indicators. The expected savings in terms of emissions reduction from this installation is more than 500 tons of CO2 per year.”

White Energy Group with its consulting and technical-operational services allows companies to benefit from the energy and environmental savings of photovoltaic energy, without making economic investments and without worrying about the maintenance and performance of a plant. In addition to plant study and sizing activities, Whitenergy assists companies in identifying regional calls or applications for Southern tax credits or those under the NRP.