Plenitude, a Benefit Corporation company of the Italian oil and gas major Eni, and Irish floating offshore wind developer Simply Blue Group have entered into an agreement to jointly develop floating wind projects in Italy, with applications for the first two already submitted to the relevant authorities.
The two floating offshore wind projects for which Plenitude and Simply Blue Group filed concession applications in Italy are proposed to be built in Apulia and Calabria, and would have a total capacity of 2.4 GW.
In Apulia, the partners plan to build a floating wind farm, named Messapia, some 30 kilometres off the Otranto coast. With a total capacity of 1.3 GW, the wind farm would be able to provide annual power generation of about 3.8 TWh.
The Krimisa floating wind farm, proposed to be built in Calabria, is planned for a site located about 45 kilometres off the coast of Crotone and would have a total capacity of 1.1 GW, enough to provide annual energy production of up to 3.5 TWh.
According to a press release from Eni, it is estimated that the two projects would be able to cover the energy needs corresponding to the electricity consumption of more than 2.5 million households.
Eni also says the aim of the new partnership is to combine the two companies’ strengths to deliver the floating wind projects in Italy.
“Through this collaboration, the parties wish to combine Plenitude’s technical and financial capabilities and experience in the Italian energy market, with Simply Blue Group’s track record in developing global floating wind projects” , Eni states. “The partners will work alongside local communities and other key industry players to develop innovative technological solutions and consolidate the Italian floating offshore wind supply chain”.
Plenitude and Simply Blue’s applications are among the numerous requests for concessions the Italian authorities are currently processing, majority of which have been filed for floating wind projects.
In November 2022, Italy’s Ministry of Ecological Transition said it had received 64 Expressions of Interest (EoI) for the development of floating wind farms off the country’s coast. Since then, tens of companies and consortia have submitted concession applications.
Over the past several months, there has also been an increasing number of proposals that include green hydrogen production .
Italy so far has one operational offshore wind farm , the Beleolico project off Taranto, in the Mediterranean Sea, which was commissioned in April this year.