Floating wind farm off Sardinia: authorization process to begin for a 975 MW plant

Sixty-two floating wind turbines now could be installed in northeastern Sardinia: they will be far enough from the coast to be almost invisible to the human eye.

These days, the Tibula Energia project by Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy is the focus of meetings between the promoting companies and local governments, which are assessing the merit of the proposal and working together to improve it, before the ministerial authorization process begins.

The proposed plant includes 62 floating wind turbines, positioned between 25 and 40 kilometers from Sardinia’s northeast coast, outside territorial waters.

Its installed capacity would be 975 MW with an expected output of more than 3.4 TWh per year, enough to cover the electricity consumption of 900,000 households and save 1.6 million tons of CO2 emissions.

The benefits that the two partners attribute to the Tibula Energia project include:

• the generation of thousands of new jobs (up to 3200 for manufacturing and more than 180 for maintenance);
• the creation of new skills and professionalism on the most advanced energy technologies, which are useful, among other things, to attract talent to the area;
• collaborations on innovation and R&D with Sardinia's universities, research centers and regional technology parks;
• stimulus to local businesses, as the project will favor a short supply chain, involving close suppliers and local businesses, and
• the development of local ports, serving as a key hub for all project phases, from assembly through operation and maintenance.

Furthermore, this initiative is designed to be especially attractive to communities, which might be involved in project-related activities, such as plant co-ownership schemes and community-designed projects to spur the sustainable growth of local conditions.

The Tibula Energia project is now taking shape after a lengthy preliminary analysis, which assessed distinctive elements and the actual impacts involved. The application for a maritime public domain concession was filed last May 6, while the start of the authorization process at the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition is expected in the coming weeks.