HomeOn the 12th of June, EWT held an open day in Montefalcone di Val Fortore. In this little village, EWT installed its first turbine in Italy in 2017. The area of Montefalcone is well situated for wind energy, the wind is on average 7 m/s all year around and the hilly landscape is full of a mix of turbines. They blend well in the agricultural sites and are beneficial to the local communities.
Although the Government is still getting shaped, and new renewable energy laws are getting to get formalized, we do see a lot of potential for onshore renewable energy projects in Italy. For this reason, EWT invited around 50 developers, investors and industry experts to join us during a lunch meeting in Montefalcone di Val Fortore to discuss about onshore wind in Italy.
Filippo Solci, Business Development and Origination Manager for Italy and myself kicked of the event explaining about EWT and our presence in Italy, our offering in terms of Operations and Maintenance and our plan to move EWT business activities forward in the country.
Tommaso Barbetti, CEO of EleMens, an independent consulting firm for the Italian energy sector, confirmed that there is a short in planning permission available on the market and there will be a “gold” rush similar if not bigger than the one that happened in 2007 towards development of sites from renewable sources. Tommaso said, there are circa 2GW of planning permissions with a view of 5GW of space into the new Green energy law that will be rolled out soon from the Italian Government. Another confirmation that renewable energy projects in Italy are still booming.
Michelangelo Lafronza, secretary of ANIE Rinnovabili the renewables association, focused on the political side of the business. Although the country is still in a transition time and with new rules yet to be formalized, the next few years of deployment will be focussed on technology. Having the right technology partner next to you when developing wind energy projects is the key to success.
During the Q&A session the questions from the audience were well translated into best practices from all 4 speakers. With their extensive experience in the industry the mix of speakers were a good combination to address all questions. The Q&A was much focused on the development plan of EWT and the ability to have the right local people on the ground needed to successfully develop projects in Italy.
Furthermore, we’ve addressed questions related to the technology of EWT turbines and how they best fit in the Italian industry. There is a big fleet of old turbines in Italy that are fit for repowering. Planning regimes in some jurisdictions, will require the preservation of original height/setback and/or other considerations. In these situations EWT turbines and its technology can be a perfect fit.
For us this event was the perfect opportunity to share but also gain insights of the onshore wind potential in Italy.
