FIUSIS, a Biomass Power Plant Fuelled Exclusively by Olive Tree Prunings. A Case Study in the AGROinLOG H2020 Project

In the framework of the AGROinLOG H2020 Project, the Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food processing of CREA was in charge of supporting the birth of a new olive tree prunings-based energy chain in the Greek Region of Fthiotida (Central Greece), with particular regard to the pruning harvesting phase. Despite the huge areas of olive grow plantations, such bioenergy chains have never taken off anywhere in the Country. On the contrary in Italy the are several practical examples of pruning utilization for energy purposes. Among these, the 1 MWe plant active in Calimera (Lecce), named Fiusis, is the first biomass power plant in the world to use exclusively olive tree prunings as a fuel source. Fiusis has been identified as a reference model to be followed in the organization of the production chain to set up in Greece. This paper reports the key elements that allowed Fiusis to achieve the success highlighting its environmental, economic and social integration with the local territory. The main technical elements of the biomass plant, the supply chain management and the operational parameters of the harvesting machineries are described. Moreover, the first achievements obtained in Greece in transferring the “Fiusis model” are reported.