The first 30MW offshore wind farm developed and constructed in Italy and the Mediterranean Sea has achieved financial close. Mott MacDonald is acting as owner’s engineer on the project, supporting the sponsor Renexia Spa.
The project will comprise of 10 Senvion 3.0MW-122 wind turbine generators (WTG). The WTG units will be supported by monopile foundations, and power will be evacuated at 33kV from the WTG units and be transformed to 150kV at a newly built onshore substation before injection into the grid.
As owner’s engineer, Mott MacDonald has assessed the capability of the supply chain and reviewed the design of the offshore WTG foundation and subsea MV cable system against best practice. The consultancy’s role also includes an assessment of the project construction contingency amount, drafting of key project management plans and supporting the development of a construction schedule. The consultancy will continue to support the owner and the sponsor in an ongoing role during construction.
Filiberto Tartari, Mott MacDonald’s project manager, said: "We're proud to be a part of the first commercial scale offshore wind farm in the Mediterranean Sea. This wind farm represents a great milestone for the market in southern Europe and we hope it will be the first of many."
Riccardo Toto, Managing Director of Renexia, added: “This project is another successful step forward. Indeed, it is part of a wider strategy that Renexia is pursuing in the US wind power industry through an important pipeline and also worldwide with many other projects. We are eager to boost the production of clean and sustainable energy in new markets and the cooperation with Mott MacDonald is complementary to our skills and capabilities.”
Manufacturing on the wind farm has commenced, while offshore installation is expected to be performed in late 2019, with project takeover expected to be completed in early 2020.
Mott MacDonald is also supporting Renexia Spa on an offshore wind farm development in Maryland, USA. The sponsor has increased its interest in the offshore wind market in recent years with a focus on the USA. The consultancy is assessing a novel WTG foundation concept design and developing the electrical design for the grid interconnection.