Italy: Application submitted for 330 MW offshore wind farm in Adriatic Sea

Energia Wind 2020 srl, part of the Italian energy company 3R Energia srl, has submitted an application to the Italian government for a 30-year concession of an area in Italy’s sector of the Adriatic Sea, where it plans to build a 330 MW offshore wind farm.

The application outlines a site some off the coasts of Rimini, Riccione, Misano Adriatico and Cattolica municipalities, in the stretch of sea pertaining to the Port Authority of Rimini.

The project, dubbed Rimini, would consist of 59 wind turbines of a 5 MW class, with 58 of them having a nominal output of 5.6 MW and one having an output of 5.2 MW.

The wind turbines would be supported by monopile foundations of some 4.8 metres in diameter, installed in water depths of up to 35 meters.

Furthermore, the project would feature two circular offshore substations with a diameter of 40 metres each, and 20 kilometres of subsea electric cables which would connect the wind turbines and group them into two main sections of 151.2 MW and 178.8 MW to be hooked to the offshore substations.

The Rimini offshore wind farm would then be connected to land with two export cables from the substations coming together into a single route around ten kilometres from the coast.

Once the export cable reaches the mainland, it would cross the beach for about 160 metres to be connected to the onshore electrical infrastructure, most likely in Bellariva di Rimini.

The application was filed on 30 March to the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.

On 4 June, the ministry and the Port Authority of Rimini put the project plans for public consultation that will run until 4 July. Stakeholder feedback has been invited for observations or oppositions regarding the use of sea (traffic, navigation, fishing, etc.).

The environmental impact assessment of the final project will take place in a subsequent phase, in which the stakeholders’ input will again be invited in these terms.