Enel Green Power plans 2 thermal solar plants

CATANIA, Italy (Reuters) - Italy's biggest renewable energy group, Enel Green Power (EGP), plans to build two concentrated solar power (CSP) plants to diversify its energy mix, a research chief at its parent company said.

EGP, which listed shares in Milan and Madrid last year, generates more than 80 percent of its power from wind plants but is considering increasing the share of solar power generation in its energy mix, its chief executive said on Friday.

EGP's capacity growth and technological and geographical diversification are keenly watched by investors.

"Enel Green Power is planning a realization of a 30 megawatt stand alone plant," Sauro Pasini, head of one of the research centers of Italy's biggest utility Enel, told reporters visiting the center on the island of Sicily on Saturday.

The plant, expected to be built in Sicily by EGP and several Italian partners, will use the CSP technology that uses sunlight and mirrors to create steam that turns a turbine to generate power, Pasini said.

Another CSP plant, with a 25 MW capacity, is planned for a water desalination project in the Mediterranean region. Both projects depend on European Union funding for which EGP has applied and is expecting a decision on soon, its officials said.

CSP technology is competing with ever-cheaper photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, which turn sunlight directly into power. Some U.S. developers of solar thermal power plants are switching to PV panels.

However, sun-drenched Italy, the world's second-biggest solar market, is trying to relaunch itself in the CSP sector -- after working on the technology in the 1970s but subsequently shelving pilot projects.

Last year, Enel started a 5 MW CSP plant called "Archimede" in Sicily, which uses molten salts as fluid in the system. This allows for much higher temperatures than usual to be generated and the heat stored for a longer time.

Pasini said the plant had some technological issues but was successfully restarted a couple of months ago.

(Reporting by Svetlana Kovalyova; Editing by Alison Birrane)