The company Welly Red srl has submitted a project to build a hydroelectric plant at the foot of the Vajont Dam in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. The €12 million investment would harness the river's current but is meeting fierce opposition from local communities. For many valley residents, the area is a sacred site commemorating the thousands of victims of the 1963 disaster, making any technical intervention highly controversial.
A project to build a new hydroelectric plant at the base of the historic Vajont Dam has sparked outrage among residents and local authorities in northern Italy. The company Welly Red srl has submitted an application to the Friuli-Venezia Giulia regional authorities for an environmental impact assessment for the €12 million investment. The installation would be located in the municipality of Erto e Casso and use water flow to generate energy. While the mayor of Erto e Casso has expressed initial support for the project, citing economic benefits, neighboring municipalities in the Veneto region, including Longarone, categorically reject the proposal. For valley residents, this area is not just an investment site but a symbol of national tragedy and a memorial to nearly two thousand victims. On October 9, 1963, Vajont witnessed one of the largest industrial disasters in European history. A massive landslide from the peak of Monte Toc plunged into the reservoir, triggering a tidal wave that wiped the town of Longarone and surrounding villages off the map. Opponents of the investment emphasize that the site has a "sacred place" status, and any attempts at commercial exploitation are an insult to the memory of the deceased. Critics note that while the technology proposed by the investor is more modern and less invasive than projects rejected in the past (the first attempt was in 1996), the ethical dimension remains unchanged. Documentation has entered the VIA procedure <przypis title=