Island facts
The Island of San Pietro is located in the southwest of Sardinia, and about 5,950 inhabitants live on 51 square kilometres, characterised by pristine beaches and breathtaking scenery. In August 2019, up to 50,000 tourists reached this ‘paradise’. A relevant economic part rests on the sustainable fishing of bluefin tuna, unique for its culinary and healthy properties. On the island, the tuna is also processed and prepared for shipments around the world. The island has a very peculiar history: it has been inhabited since 1738, when a group of Genoese settlers, present since 1500 on the Tunisian island of Tabarka, settled there. For this reason, currently, 90% of the population speaks the Genoese language in their daily lives and has maintained the ancient Ligurian traditions. These traditions, especially from a culinary point of view, are flanked by North African ones, so much so that one of the typical dishes is couscous.
Electricity production
The electricity produced on the island comes from renewable sources, and in particular from 11 different photovoltaic plants (mainly small systems, located on public and private rooftops, but one reaches 1 MW of power). However, the main quantity of electricity comes from the mainland, with two marine cables connected to the electric grid. The transport to the island happens by ferries, but ones on the island bikes and cars are the most used transportations. The Municipality has started to adopt electric cars in its own vehicle fleet, and some electric motorcycles can be rented. In the context of the REACT project, it was planning to install air-to-air (ATA) heat pumps, in order also to increase the efficacy of the PV installed on the building rooftop. For buildings with significant domestic hot water demands air to water heat (ATW) pumps have been deployed.
Clean energy transition
Through the project, REACT, the municipality and the European Commission want to integrate smart grid technologies into the island's net. Up to June 2021, 53 buildings have been considered for the demonstration activities of the pilot, which is transforming the San Pietro Energy community into a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). With the support of the Clean energy for EU islands secretariat and the Politecnico di Torino, which cooperates as a regional partner, the municipality is working on drafting a Clean Energy Transition Agenda.
Watch Stefano Rombi, Mayor of Carloforte in San Pietro speak about the support from the Clean energy for EU islands secretariat and the clean energy plans for the island.