Centrale Idroelettrica Isola
THE ABANDONED POWER PLANT IN ITALY
‘Centrale Idroelettrica Isola’ is a hydroelectric plant. It was the first in the North of Italy and, at that time, and one of the largest in Europe. Construction work began in 1907 with a dam, to create a big lake that was used a reservoir.
The dam and power station were built by the ‘Società Generale Elettrica dell’Adamello’ from Milan in 1907. They were one of the first electro-commercial companies in Italy.
Production started in 1910. The power plant uses the rivers that flow naturally into the basin. Lake Arno as it is called is in fact a basin of 14 square kilometers. Later, the buildings of the power station were enlarged in the year 1917 and modified during the year 1929. The plant had an annual production of about 180 million kilowatt-hours. The water used by the Isola power station is collected and transported to the basins of the power station of Cedegolo. Where it is used again.
In the second half of the 1960s, construction work began on the ‘Centrale Idroelettrica di San Fiorano’. This brand-new central went into service in the early 1970s. That consequently led to the definitive abandonment of the Isola plant in 1974. The buildings are protected. I visited the ‘Centrale Idroelettrica Isola’ in 2014 on my road trip through Italy.
