THE MED WIND FARM’S SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION
Our method: listening and consensus
THE SUPPORT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
The project has been developed in accordance with the strictest criteria of environmental protection and compatibility with the surrounding territory, and therefore enjoys the full support of the most important environmental associations, with which a continuous dialogue on the design aspects has been ongoing since the very beginning.
THE PROTECTION OF LANDSCAPE AND MARINE ECOSYSTEM
Floating technology allows the wind force to be harnessed offshore without interfering with the marine ecosystem. In addition, the approximately 80 km distance from the coast zeroes any impact on the landscape. The wind farm design development has minimized any interference with economic, tourist and commercial activities in the area.
LISTENING TO STAKEHOLDERS
It continues a constant and attentive listening to the requests coming from the main stakeholders, in order to ensure the project's fullest integration into the economic and social fabric that hosts it.
“FLOATING” TECHNOLOGY
The structures supporting the large blades of the wind farm will not be driven into the underwater seabed but fixed with an advanced anchoring system, significantly reducing the impact on the environment, in a sea area chosen according to depth (ranging from 200 to 900 meters). The layout was defined to minimize the impact on the environment and human activities.
TECHNOLOGY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
A floating wind turbine is mounted on a floating platform on water. Floating wind turbines allow wind energy to be harnessed in particularly windy locations that previously could not be exploited due to the depth of the seabed. Floating wind parks can therefore greatly increase the sea surface available for the installation of offshore wind parks, making it possible to utilise areas where the sea is too deep for fixed wind turbines – as, for example, in the open seas of the Mediterranean.
This allows floating wind turbines to be positioned further away from the coast, which helps significantly reduce – and in the case of Med Wind entirely eliminate – the impact on the landscape, while at the same time exploiting more powerful and consistent winds.
Constant winds means, among other things, ensuring the continuity of power generation, minimizing the problems associated with the discontinuity typical of other renewable sources.
ENVIRONMENTAL ADVANTAGES
Floating technology prevents the need for drilling and leaves the surrounding marine environment intact. Furthermore, the significant distance from land completely nullifies any visual impact. Overall, the system represents a unique and more efficient alternative to land-based wind or solar installations. The offshore floating windfarm is therefore a new frontier in the renewable energy sector, as it permits the use of strong, reliable winds, elements that can only be found on the open sea.
Italy’s Association of Wind Energies (ANEV), in presenting the offshore wind manifesto, stressed the incredible potential of floating plants, suited to the characteristics of the Mediterranean.
Turbines supporting marine life
Research and study of the marine environment
The development of the facility includes the possibility of promoting a series of activities to protect the ecosystem where the wind farm will be built. For this reason, an oceanographic campaign was carried out in the area in collaboration with national and international leaders such as the Italian Navy, the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station in Naples, Rina and Fugro. The results of these analyses, which have never been done in this stretch of sea in such depth, will be available to the scientific community for the study and preservation of a unique ecosystem, as well as for the definition of best practices in the development of future offshore wind fields.
