The agreement includes an investment of 500 million to establish a newco that will operate a production site for wind turbines in Italy and employ 1100 workers
Environmental Impact Study delivered for Med Wind floating offshore wind project
Roma, August 8th 2024 – Renexia, a Toto Group company operating in the renewables sector, announces to have signed together with MIMIT (Made in Italy) Minister Adolfo Urso and MingYang, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of wind turbines, a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at establishing a newco that will manage a production site for the manufacture of wind turbines in Italy, based on a €500 million investment. This is where key components will be produced and assembled to build Med Wind, the largest offshore floating wind farm project in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Trapani, and for which Renexia presented the Environmental Impact Study today, after a vast series of in-depth and thorough environmental and economic feasibility studies that lasted years and required significant investment. This is an important development plan because the large Sicilian project represents the ideal trigger for the creation of a wind power industrial chain, both offshore and onshore, not present in other countries to date, making Italy an international benchmark in an industrial sector with high potential.
“I would like to thank Minister Urso for trusting us and believing in our project. The partnership signed today will enable us to create a value chain that also involves domestic companies, in floating offshore wind power industry, within our borders. In this way we will provide a valuable contribution to hit the goals of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan, and to support the Mattei Plan for Africa” – comments Riccardo Toto, General Manager Renexia.
Renexia chose Ming Yang because the Chinese Group is able to ensure delivery by the first half of 2026, the date set by design for the start of installations in the first section of the plant, located more than 80 km off the coast. The solution proposed by Ming Yang, with whom Renexia has already collaborated on the construction in Taranto of the first, and still the only, marine wind farm in the Mediterranean, is to use an 18.8 MW turbine, a power that would reduce the amount of wind turbines planned for Med Wind. From 190 with a power output of 15 MW each in the original project, it would thus be reduced to 148 for the production, once fully operational, of 9 TWh per year, equivalent to the needs of 3.4 million households. This would have two advantages: reduced environmental impact and lower maintenance costs.
The new company, originally established by Ming Yang and Renexia, will be aimed at identifying a suitable area, in agreement with the government, within 90 days. Employment is expected to be around 1100 resources, and the next step, thanks to the efforts of Mimit, will be to support the entry of new Italian players into the shareholding structure and foster investment, including those from international players.
