Floating offshore wind is the energy source that can boost Italian industry.Here's what's missing at the start

The construction of wind turbines to be installed at sea would activate some key sectors of Made in Italy.Between 2020 and 2023 requests for over 100 GW, but the government remains cautious on the objectives

Two numbers are enough to realize the enormous potential, explored so far, of offshore wind energy in Italy.The first is 8,300 and is equivalent to the overall length of the Italian coastline measured in kilometres.The second number is 10 and indicates the number of wind turbines currently in operation at sea.To date, there is only one offshore wind energy production plant in Italy.It is called «Beleolico» and was built by Renexia off the coast of Taranto, in Puglia.Unlike what happens in the North Sea, sailing around the Mediterranean it is quite rare to come across wind turbines installed in the water and the reason is quite simple.The sea that separates continental Europe from Scandinavia and the United Kingdom has very shallow depths even several tens of meters from the coast.A feature that makes it ideal for fixing wind turbines to the seabed.In the Mediterranean, however, we have to deal with decidedly more challenging depths, which so far have held back investments and projects.

Offshore wind?Yes, but floating

There is a way out and it is called floating offshore wind power.The difference compared to traditional systems, as the name suggests, lies precisely in the fact that the wind turbines are not fixed to the seabed, but installed on platforms that float on the water.This simple feature brings with it a cascade of benefits.The first is of a landscape nature:positioning wind farms several kilometers away from the coasts makes the wind turbines almost invisible from the mainland, eliminating (or almost zero) the impact on the landscape.The second advantage concerns the power of the turbines, which are much larger than those installed on land and therefore capable of generating much more energy (almost three times compared to traditional wind farms).Then there is the issue relating to infrastructure:the possibility of building floating wind turbines means that the only construction to be built on land is a structure for connecting cables.Finally, as regards fishing, the impact is all in all negligible.Indeed, operators in the offshore wind sector promise that energy production plants will help combat trawling, which will be banned throughout the European Union from 2027.

A sector in turmoil

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, Italy represents the third largest market in the world for the development of floating offshore wind.The Polytechnic of Turin speaks of a potential of 207.3 GW, but this is a figure that should be taken with a pinch of salt.Not because it is unreliable, but because it refers to the energy that could be produced if wind turbines were placed in every marine area deemed suitable.In any case, the potential is there.And so far it seems that companies in the sector have noticed this even before the Italian government.Between 2020 and 2023, connection requests for the offshore wind network increased 19 times, reaching and exceeding 100 gigawatts.«This doesn't mean that they will all be done, what matters are the objectives set by the government», specifies Simone Togni, president of Anev, the national wind energy association.And the government's objectives, in fact, contain more cautious projections, to say the least.In the Pniec, the national integrated energy and climate plan, the executive led by Giorgia Meloni indicates a target of 2.6 GW for offshore wind by 2030.The real growth, explains Togni, will take place in the next decade, with overall capacity potentially rising to 11 GW in 2040 and even 30 GW in 2050.

Among the companies committed to bringing floating offshore wind to Italy there are also Nadara (formerly Falck Renewables) and BlueFloat Energy, which aim to build six marine wind farms:two in Puglia, three in Sardinia, one in Calabria.«The overall investment is 18 billion euros, for an installed capacity of 5.5 GW which will produce 18 billion kilowatt hours per year when fully operational, equal to a third of the electricity we import annually from abroad», he explains to Open Daniele Caruso, project director of the partnership between Nadara and BlueFloat Energy.The two companies estimate an employment potential of over 20 thousand workers for their projects alone and the avoidance of over 11 million tons of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere per year.«The two most advanced projects are those in Puglia, Odra and Kailia, which will be built off the coast of Lecce and Brindisi.We estimate that we will be ready to begin work in 2027, to start producing energy by the end of this decade", adds Caruso.

Offshore wind power in Italy and around the world

Italy, as mentioned, is one of the countries with the most potential in the world for floating offshore wind, which could provide considerable help in the long journey towards the decabornization of the energy system.To date, for example, Sardinia, Sicily and Puglia are significantly behind on the renewable energy targets set for 2030.However, those same three regions are also the ones that could host the highest number of floating offshore wind farms.«This technology allows us to open an important market at an international level and the potential for Italy is enormous», observes Simone Togni.With more than 30 GW installed at the end of 2022, China today occupies the first position in the world for installed offshore wind power, both fixed-bottom and floating.Followed by the United Kingdom, with 13.8 GW, and Germany, with 8.1 GW installed.This technology also plays a leading role in Green Deal European, the strategy through which Brussels aims to revolutionize its economy and eliminate emissions by 2050.At the end of 2023, the European Commission presented its action plan for offshore wind, which aims to speed up the authorization processes and unlock the hitherto unexpressed potential of many European countries.

A supply chain to be built

Beyond the undoubted environmental benefits, the development of floating offshore wind opens the doors to a potentially enormous market, to the point that for a few years now there has been talk of how to create a real supply chain.The good news for Italy is that this technology activates some key industrial sectors for our country.First, the metallurgy:with 21.6 million tonnes produced, Italy is the second largest steel producer among EU countries (after Germany).Our country is also in first place in the production of ships and boats, an essential component to allow the assembly and transport of wind turbines.In short, unlike what happens with photovoltaics, the development of offshore wind could count on the support and experience of some leading Italian companies in their respective sectors of expertise.According to a recent study by The European House – Ambrosetti, this technology activates five key sectors of Made in Italy (building materials, metal products, advanced mechanics, shipbuilding, electrical equipment), which already today employ 1.3 million workers per a total value of 255.6 billion euros.

The obstacles

In any case, there is no shortage of difficulties.«To meet the objectives set for 2030, Italy would need to double steel production», explains Simone Togni.Today, adds the president of Anev, «no producer of wind turbines, cables or floaters is able to supply the necessary quantities."Then there is the issue relating to ports, where most of the turbine assembly activities are carried out.At the moment there are no ports in Italy with the right requirements to develop a floating offshore wind project, and the adaptation of the structures costs several tens of millions of euros.The government's Energy Decree aims to equip two ports, but according to sector operators "at least four, maybe six" would be needed.Among the other obstacles that must be taken into account are the absence of a strategic national planning of the maritime space, which has already cost Italy a referral to the EU Court of Justice, and the need to invest in network infrastructures capable to manage the flow of energy generated by new offshore plants.In short, there is still a long way to go.But the potential is definitely there and it would be a real shame to waste it.

Cover photo credits:Dreamstime/Artur Kutskyi