Floating wind experts BlueFloat Energy and onshore wind community engagement pioneer Falck Renewables have announced a new 1.3 GW floating offshore wind farm scheme off the southern coast of the province of Lecce, Italy.
The partners are set to file the documentation, on behalf of the company Odra Energia, required to start the authorization process for the project. Similar to the first project off the coast of Brindisi, 1.2 GW Kailia Energia, announced last September, the project developers behind Odra Energia are about to begin a voluntary preliminary consultation process aimed at providing a better understanding of the scope of the environmental impact study which will be carried out.
A request for the maritime concession will also be filed with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Port System Authority of the Southern Adriatic Sea. The estimated annual production is about 4 TWh, equivalent to the consumption of more than 1m Italian households.
The project would rely on ports in the region, both for construction and maintenance activities. According to project partners, the manufacturing, assembly and construction phase of the wind farm, would create 1,500 direct jobs, growing to around 4,000 during peak periods. After the wind farm comes into operation, it is estimated that more than 150 full-time jobs would be created.
