Larderello
Larderello is a district of the municipality Pomarance ( province of Pisa) in Tuscany in Italy, is 390 meters above sea level. Larderello has 850 inhabitants and belongs entirely to the Italian power company ENEL.
Location
The place is located in the center of the so-called Valley of the Devil (Italian valle del diavolo ). This area covers an area of approximately 200 square kilometers in the valley of Cecina takes its name from its boron-containing Soffioni, that is out shooting, white steam fountains, and formed by hot springs pools and ponds ( Lagoni = large lakes).
History
The Etruscans used the boron salts that could be gained from the Lagoni, as medicine and needed it as a glaze for ceramics. Roman sources report, and list the correct geographic location. Further, the area was known in the Middle Ages.
In 1282, a volcanic processes triggered by steam explosion, which resulted in the area with a several -centimeter-thick layer of volcanic ash was covered occurred in the crater, forming the 250 meters in diameter Lago Vecchienna today.
However, a settlement founded in the 19th century François Jacques de Larderel, an industrialist of French origin, who in 1827 perfected here the production of boric acid from the boron source, which was operated at this location since 1818. He was based on preliminary studies of Uberto Francesco Hoefer, the patron of the Tuscan pharmacies and so far advisor at the court of the Grand Duke. Church and school are from the original settlement still exists.
In the 20th century the geothermal learned from the Soffionen an entirely new use for generating electricity: 1904 the world's first geothermal power plant was built in Larderello. The electricity has been running since 1913, and long time Italy had unique position in this technology.
From 1931 steam wells were drilled for additional energy generation, the first cooling towers made it necessary in 1937. Gradually let the Enel SpA, which operates the power plant since 1962, to build a system that directs the steam directly into turbines and today is still one of the world's largest geothermal power plants. The built by Enel, geothermal power plants in Larderello and Monte Amiata Travale thus generate about 1.5% of the electricity produced in total in Italy. In Tuscany, the figure is 45%. (2006 )
Geothermal Museum
The museum established in 1956 under a dome tent documented the historical development of Borgewinnung in the past and the generation today. Furthermore, a visit soffione and a reconstructed Lagone groups by appointment.
Type locality
Larderello is as active boron deposit a good location for boron-containing minerals. In addition to the famous Bormineral borax and its weathering product Tincalconit here among other Datolith and Sassolin and various sulfates and silicates were found. Larderello is also considered a type locality for the minerals Ammonioborit, Biringuccit, Larderellit, Nasinit, Santit and Sborgit.