Italy’s largest floating wind farm wins early approval

Barium Bay is a project that will be sited 45 kilometres from the coast along the Adriatic Sea between Bari and Barletta in the Apulia Region south of Italy.

Developers Galileo, which describes itself as ‘a pan-European platform for renewable energy development’, and Hope Group, ‘an Italian company active in the design of renewable energy plants’, say the wind farm has been designed with two offshore substations that will have fixed-bottom foundations while the turbines are on floating platforms.

They say the farm will have a generation capacity of 1,110MW, servicing more than a million households.

“We are satisfied and proud of this milestone, which is the result of the work of numerous national and international entities and professionals we deeply wish to thank. We are now focused on reaching construction and commissioning milestones for the plant, which could generate thousands of skilled jobs and attract several billion euros in investment to the country” says Francesco Dolzani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Barium Bay and Business Development Director for Galileo in Italy.

According to market analyst 4C Offshore, Italy has just one operational offshore wind farm, although there are 143 on the drawing board, unsurprising with its 7,500km of coastline.

In an article on Italy’s offshore wind status, international law form Watson Farly & Williams says installed capacity is 13GW in Italy but is planned to rise to 28.1GW by 2030.

When it comes to potential, it says there is 207.3GW of floating wind power, which would make it the third largest market for floating wind in the world.

“The energy produced, thanks to the wind that blows undisturbed in the Southern Adriatic Sea, will be valuable for businesses and citizens, contributing to creating a healthier territory and increasing employment in Apulia Region,” said Hope Group’s CEO Michele Scoppio.