Italy is about to get a lot more clean, renewable energy in the form of a huge floating solar and wind farm in the Ionian Sea.
The hybrid renewable energy farm, currently referred to as the Corigliano project, is the work of Dutch-Norwegian offshore solar company SolarDuck, Italian investment fund Arrow Capital, and Italian developer New Developments, Electrek reported. Per the news outlet, it will be located in the Gulf of Taranto off the Calabrian coast of Corigliano-Rossano and will feature a 540-megawatt (MW) capacity. It has an estimated commercial operation date of 2028.
Italy revised its renewable energy goals in mid-2023, with the country's energy minister stating that Italy will attempt to generate 65% of its power from renewable sources by the end of the decade — up from the previous goal of 55%. While the government has not yet explained how this new goal will be reached, greenlighting projects like this could help achieve it.
"With the current momentum, we believe this is a unique opportunity for the offshore renewable energy industry to help shape a favorable regulatory framework and facilitate the scaling of [Offshore Floating Photovoltaic systems]," said SolarDuck CEO Koen Burgers, per PV Magazine. "This is not just important for Italy, but also for other countries in the Mediterranean."
The more clean, renewable energy generated from sources like the sun and the wind, the less societies will have to rely on power sources like coal and natural gas (primarily methane), which release immense amounts of air pollution and contribute to the overheating of our planet.
In addition, renewable energy can save consumers money in the long term.
"Where I live, we only have solar and wind generation on the ground or roof tops. My residential electric generation is 100% renewable (wind & solar) and has gone from $0.0623/kWh to $0.020/kWh over the last two years. It's been $0.020 for the last year until this last month where it's at $0.018/kWh. I don't care where you put it, renewable electric generation is really the way to go," wrote one Electrek commenter.
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