At the end of July, off the coast of Livorno, the LNG tanker FSRU Toscana was installed, which will host a new regasification terminal, the third in Italy after that of Panigaglia (La Spezia) and Porto Viro (Rovigo). The huge floating terminal, anchored 22 kilometers off the coast, will serve as a dock and unloading point for methane tankers loaded with liquefied natural gas, which will be poured into the regasification tank to be transformed.
The gas obtained will be transferred to the mainland through pipes placed at a depth of 120 m. According to the intentions of the builders, the regasification terminal is the work of the company OLT (OLT offshore LNG Tuscany), will therefore make it possible to obtain LNG at reduced prices from international markets, freeing supplies from long-term contracts with traditional suppliers (for Italy, primarily Russia and Algeria), with consequences on heating tariffs and consumption energy of Italian families.
The regasification capacity of the new terminal is 3,75 billion cubic meters a year, equal to about 4% of the national requirement, and should be operational from next autumn-winter, once testing is completed.
However, there remains a widespread concern about theenvironmental impact of the structure, which fueled protests by the population of the Livorno coast. The OLT company defends itself by claiming the sustainability of the project and the authorizations received for its installation, but this is not enough to reassure those who fear for the health of the sea and the coast and the survival of the Cetacean Sanctuary.
In addition to the fears connected to a continuous and regular transfer not far from the coast of potentially explosive gas, the "No offshore" committee shows concern for the chlorine used by the regasification plant to purify the sea water necessary for its operation, and which once used will be thrown back into the sea, with obvious imbalances for the marine ecosystem. The protest culminated on August 6 with "the funeral of the sea", which involved more than three thousand people in the center of Livorno to ask for the dismantling of the structure.
