(Finance) – By the end of 2022 Triad will release the technical connection solution for all new offshore wind farms that have requested, by 31 October, connection to the national transmission grid, for a total power of approximately 95 GW. This is what emerged during the today’s workshop “Evolution of renewables – Offshore 2022” organized in Rome by the company headed by Stefano Donnarumma which manages the national electricity grid, together with the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment.
During the meeting, the point was taken on the regulatory context, on the evolution, on the state of progress and on the geographical distribution of the requests for connection of plants to renewable sources in Italy, with a specific focus on offshore wind. During 2022, Terna recorded a strong growth trend: in October, in fact, requests for connection to the national transmission grid of new green plants reached the total value of approx. 300GW of power (of which 36% from solar sources and 74% from onshore and offshore wind sources). A significant figure, equal to more than 4 times the need for 70 GW of new renewable capacity necessary to achieve the climate targets defined by the new EU legislative package Fit-for-55 by 2030.
In particular, theso-called floating offshore wind, which involves the construction of floating systems on the aquatic surface, is finding ever greater development in the depths of the Italian seas, thanks to the technological progress gained on the international market. An important step forward which is confirmed by the connection requests received from Terna: as at 31 October 2022, those relating to offshore wind in fact reached a power of approximately 95 GW (over 200% more than those received in December 2021). Approximately 80% of the requests are located in the regions of southern Italy and in the major islands. In particular, there are approximately 24 GW in Sardinia, 19 GW in Sicily and 4 GW in Calabria.
In the broader context of achieving the targets set by the Fit-for-55 policy scenario described in the 2022 Scenario Description Document (DDS), and managing connection requests, Terna also analyzed the maximum acceptable volume of renewable energy for each market zone, identifying the most suitable areas for the construction of new onshore photovoltaic and wind farms. With the help of geographical information systems it was also possible to evaluate the existing regulatory constraints.