The Falck Renewables/BlueFloat Energy partnership set up to develop floating offshore wind farms off the Italian coast has announced the creation of Minervia Energia, an ad hoc company to develop a floating offshore wind farm off Catanzaro, Calabria.
Recognizing the potential for the floating wind technology in Italy, the developers have chosen Calabria as a location for the proposed 45-turbine Minervia Energia floating wind farm in the Gulf of Squillace, between 13 and 29 kilometres from the coast.
The proposed wind farm would have an installed capacity of 675 MW , producing 2.4 terawatt-hours annually, equivalent to the energy consumption of more than 600,000 households, and avoiding 1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, the partners said.
Energy from the development could also be used to produce 45,000 tons of green hydrogen annually.
The developers submitted a request for a maritime concession to the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Port System Authority of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas at the beginning of December and have started the preliminary consultation (scoping) process which will define the Environmental Impact Assessment study.
In addition to generating clean energy, the Minervia Energia project is said to be based on a collaborative approach which shares value with the communities near the wind farm.
In line with their other projects, the developers are holding a series of meetings with local stakeholders to share more information about the proposed project.
It is estimated that the floating offshore wind farm could create 2,500 direct jobs during the manufacturing, assembly, and construction phase, with the goods and services for the construction and maintenance of the development primarily sourced from local companies.
The developers are also proposing using the region’s main port during construction and long-term maintenance of the wind farm, providing an added economic boost to the area. Partnerships with universities and technology companies would be an opportunity to promote the area as a future hub for innovation, research and development, the partners said.
Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy are also jointly developing the 1.2 GW Kailia Energia floating wind project offshore Puglia:
And the 1.3 GW Odra Energia floating wind project, also offshore Puglia: