Mini-hydro power plant for the improvement of urban water-energy nexus toward sustainability - A case study

This practical paper presents a required reflection on paradigm shift toward an aware water management in urban context for the provision of renewable energy and for the enhancement of pre-industrial heritage. It investigates the transition toward systemic and ecological approach to face the complexity of urban environment and infrastructures for energy supply. The study investigates the sustainable energy framework in Piedmont Region and in the Municipality of Turin. Especially, it analyses oppor- tunities provided by urban rivers and streams for installing mini-hydro power plants using historical unused infrastructures. The real case study presents the conversion of an historical check dam of Regio Parco canal in a mini-hydro power plant in the city of Turin (Piedmont Region, Italy), and it investigates the “land use-water-energy nexus” from an ecological perspective. The paper considers the 12 principles of infrastructure ecology in the urban water management to provide innovative solutions for blue-urban infrastructures that increase sustainability in cities. According to the urban ecological infrastructure, the project of mini-hydro power plant presents multi-functional features and this method can be replied in other similar contexts. Concerning technical solutions adopted for the mini-hydro power plant, it ex- amines the potential of the green/blue infrastructure approach to integrate the flood risk management and the production of renewable energy. It analyses opportunities provided by low impact development to preserve freshwater ecosystems and to maintain biodiversity using inflatable dam, Kaplan turbine and fish ladder. The “Regio Parco” mini-hydro power plant is designed to provide energy for almost 600 households improving the environmental value and the usability of the area. The paper discusses the adoption of an ecological approach to design multiple functions blue infrastructure that can be imple- mented on other networks improving the urban landscape.