Pescara gets a helping hand from EIB in its green transition

Among the planned projects is the construction of an anaerobic waste digestion plant

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Italian municipality of Pescara have signed an agreement for the financing of 35 million euros, which will go towards green transition projects in that city. The money will boost the local budget for the period 2021-2025, which has been thought out with a view to promoting circular economy, energy efficiency and solid waste management.

Supporting the climate strategy of Pescara

The funds will be spent on the renovation of existing recycling plants, the energy efficiency of 55 public and school buildings and the purchase of means of transport with low environmental impact (electric, hybrid or bio-methane vehicles).

However, one project received an even stronger emphasis – the construction of an anaerobic waste digestion plant.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a process through which bacteria break down organic matter—such as animal manure, wastewater biosolids, and food wastes—in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic digestion for biogas production takes place in a sealed vessel called a reactor.

These reactors contain complex microbial communities that break down (or digest) the waste and produce resultant biogas and digestate (the solid and liquid material end-products of the AD process). The first is a fuel and the second can be used as a fertilizer, among other things.

It will manage 50 000 tons of waste per year and produce 4 million cubic metres of biomethane each year. In addition, the project provides for the upgrading of a sorting plant for recyclable materials with a treatment capacity of 30 000 tons per year compared to approximately 8 000 at present and the re-establishment of an ecological island for the management of electronic and electrical waste. 

The project will be coordinated and implemented by the municipal companies Ambiente SpA for waste management and Pescara Energia SpA for energy management. The latter will replace fixtures and insulation coverings in 55 public buildings and schools, improving their energy efficiency also through the use of energy-saving lighting and the installation of photovoltaic panels.