Plenitude, Benefit Corporation (Società Benefit), a company of Eni, and Simply Blue Group, an Irish blue economy project developer, have signed an agreement for the joint development of a pipeline of new floating offshore wind projects in Italy. Through this collaboration, the parties wish to combine Plenitude’s technical and financial capabilities and experience in the Italian energy market, with Simply Blue Group’s track record in developing global floating wind projects.
The first two floating offshore wind projects, “Messapia” in Apulia and “Krimisa” in Calabria, have already been submitted to the relevant authorities.
The Messapia project, located about 30km off the Otranto coast, will have a total capacity of 1.3 GW and will be able to provide annual power generation of about 3.8 TWh.
The Krimisa project, located about 45km off the coast of Crotone, will have a total capacity of 1.1 GW and will be able to provide annual energy production of up to 3.5 TWh.
Overall, it is estimated that the two projects will be able to cover the energy needs corresponding to the electricity consumption of more than 2.5 million households, contributing to the country’s decarbonization goals.
The partners will work alongside local communities and other key industry players to develop innovative technological solutions and consolidate the Italian floating offshore wind supply chain.
Stefano Goberti, CEO of Plenitude, commented: “With this partnership Plenitude expands its portfolio of floating wind projects in line with its target of reaching 15GW of renewable capacity by 2030 and reaffirms its commitment to creating an offshore wind supply chain in Italy. For Plenitude, offshore wind is a key contributor to the energy transition path and the achievement of our 2040 carbon neutrality targets to provide fully decarbonized energy to our customers.”
Sam Roch-Perks, Group Chief Executive Officer of Simply Blue Group said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Plenitude and increasing our pipeline of global projects. Italy represents a big opportunity in floating offshore wind, and we look forward to combining our expertise and delivering innovative projects that will provide real solutions to the climate crisis”.
