Mount Monviso, the mountain in Piedmont where the Po rises, could be floodlit at night for the duration of the Winter Olympics in Turin in 2006. The idea has been put forward by the Mountain Community of the Po, Bronda and Infernotto Valleys. A company called S.O.L.E., a subsidiary of the Italian National Electricity Company (ENEL) has been given the job, but the idea has not had a good reception.
There is a variety of reasons for this:
The operation would cost almost € 75,000, plus another € 10,000 just to test the installation; the consumption of electricity would be enormous (the project envisages 5 spotlights, each of 7,000 watts); Mount Monviso – the mountain which is a symbol of Piedmont – belongs to a
European Community Site of Special Interest, and such massive floodlighting would have to undergo an assessment of its impact, of which so far there has been no sign.
And this is not all: despite the huge expense, if there should be bad weather or fog during the Olympic games, the whole project would be scrapped.
source: www.alpmedia.net
