Commissioned in 1939, the Santa Caterina power plant is one of the most significant examples of industrial archaeology in Sulcis and an effective witness to the industrial development of this region in the first half of the 20th century. During the years of World War II, the power plant, through the combustion of coal from Serbariu, pulverized on site by a crusher, supplied energy not only to the Sulcis mining complex but even to the Cagliari area, through a special connection network. The power plant remained in use until 1963 and was finally decommissioned in 1965, although some of the facilities housed ENEL’s “Experimental Station for Research on Insulations with Saline Pollution” until 1985. Its location was mainly determined by the proximity of the waters of the lagoon, which were used for the operation and cooling of the machines. The complex consisted of three main bodies of the plant, within which were located the steam generators, seawater distillers with feed pumps, turbo-alternators and 5 KV switchboards. Unfortunately, not much is preserved of these instrumentations today, although the acquisition of the facility a few years ago by the Municipality of San Giovanni Suergiu and the subsequent closure of the area have helped to preserve what remains.
Of definite interest is the architecture of the main building, consisting of three bodies of different heights. A further element of interest in this complex concerns the complementary structures located in the area surrounding the power plant proper. A few hundred meters from the area are a number of small buildings originally intended to house the central manager and shift leaders and, later, workers and employees; they were abandoned in the mid-1980s. At the same time, one of the first experimental wind power plants was also built and started up, in one of the most wind-exposed (particularly mistral) sites on the entire European continent, but after a few years it too was abandoned. The interior of the facility is unfortunately not accessible, as the entrances and windows have been bricked up for security reasons. However, an eloquent photo exhibit can be visited in the recently renovated building to the right of the entrance gate.
