A floating buoy housing light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and other sensors has been positioned in waters off the coast of Brindisi, Italy, to conduct surveys in preparation for the construction of the Kailia Energia and Lupiae Maris floating offshore wind farms. The buoy was placed by a collaboration of companies that, in partnership, are promoting the construction of the two wind farms: Renantis and BlueFloat Energy for Kailia Energia and Gruppo Hope and Galileo for Lupiae Maris.
“The initiation of the campaign to measure the wind resource off the coast of the lower Adriatic confirms the progress of the projects and the commitment and determination of its partners to complete the preliminary phases leading to the start of plant construction,” said Michele Scoppio, sole director of Gruppo Hope. “Our partnership with Galileo and the collaboration with Renantis-BlueFloat Energy demonstrate how the maturity and professionalism of the companies involved in the offshore wind sector provide fertile ground for building synergies and teamwork to benefit the country’s energy system, efficiently achieving the challenging goals ahead of us.”
Equipped with fully autonomous remote sensing devices, the buoy will remain in the water for a minimum of 12 months to obtain detailed information on the characteristics of the stretch of sea where the floating platforms of the two wind farms will be located. More specifically, the buoy will collect data on wind, weather conditions, and wave motion.
“The deployment of this buoy at sea represents the first activity that we are developing in collaboration with the joint venture promoting the Lupiae Maris wind farm,” said Ksenia Balanda, managing director for the Renantis-BlueFloat Energy partnership in Italy. “We are confident that creating synergies with other operators and pooling different experiences can only benefit the development of such an innovative sector.“
The decision for these two partnerships to collaborate stems from the desire to create positive and proactive synergies between companies that have chosen to invest in Italy’s Puglia region, an area with significant potential for the development of new floating offshore wind technology. The shared goal is to work together to accelerate the country’s energy transition process and contribute to identifying renewable solutions to reduce dependence on foreign energy supplies.