Italy: First Offshore Wind Farm

Italy is close to completing the construction project of the first offshore wind farm as an alternative to become independent from the Russian fossil fuels. The wind farm will be located in the port of Taranto.

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The Beleolico wind turbine park will be placed just 100 meters from the coast of Taranto, in the south of Italy, where the polluting steel plant, Ilva is located. According to the energy firm of Eni, the project is likely to be classified as nearshore, where they consider it is a "decisive moment for exploitation of wind energy in the Mediterranean Sea."

The plant is expected to be operated with 10 turbines with a total capacity of 30 MW - able to produce over 58,000 MWh, which represents the annual energy needed for 60 000 people. In other words, it will save around 730 000 tonnes of CO2 during its 25-year lifespan in environmental terms.

The Italian government has approved a plan to build six new wind farms on land, from Sardinia to Basilicata. In light of the energy crisis Italy is facing, wind farms are now getting the go-ahead, after years of red tape in such projects. The government disclosed that the onshore parks will be developed in the central and southern regions of Puglia, Basilica, and Sardinia.

Alongside the new six wind farms are two already approved by the Italian government so far 2022, with a capacity of 65.5 MW.

Rome announced on Tuesday the decision to end reliance on Russian gas by 2025, as the rest of the EU, the UK and the US have gradually done since the beginning of the Russian special military operation last February 24.

According to the Minister for the ecological transition, the country's main objective with this move is to move forward wholly independent of the Russian gas imports "within 30 months."