The Port of Taranto welcomes the first offshore wind farm in the Mediterranean Sea

PORT OF TARANTO, 22 APRIL 2022 - Yesterday morning the San Cataldo Container Terminal of the Port of Taranto hosted the opening ceremony for the first offshore wind farm in Italy and in the Mediterranean Sea: “Beleolico”, developed by Renexia, a company of the Toto Group. The event was attended by the General Manager of the Toto Group, Riccardo Toto, by high-ranking institutional, civil and religious representatives - both local and national - by the Chinese Ambassador to Italy, Li Junhua and the Economic Advisor of the Dutch Embassy, Agnes Agterberg.

The infrastructure of Beleolico was built following strict sustainability criteria, based on a design by the engineer Luigi Severini and consists of 10 turbines with an overall capacity of 30 Mw and a guaranteed total output of 58k Mwh at full working capacity, which is equivalent to the annual requirement for 60k people, reducing the emissions of CO2 by circa 730k tons.

The objective of the installation of a wind farm in the Port of Taranto is to supply inclusive energy while equipping the city with a sustainable plant both from an environmental and a socio-economic perspective. At the local level, this supports further growth opportunities and therefore promotes the development of the local entrepreneurial community in a system of “local-content requirement”.
Riccardo Toto highlighted that the company designed Beleolico as an inclusive facility in order to support Taranto in its transition towards a paradigm shift, through the development of a supply chain which will include the need for wind plant maintenance, enabling new economic and social prospects. From this perspective, Renexia has highlighted the cooperation established with universities and the educational system, whose aim is to make younger generations aware of the added value that renewable energies are developing in the local area.

The event hosted a round table on the subject “Beleolico, Taranto restarts with energy - Italy bets on renewable energies”, remotely attended by Ministers Di Maio, Giorgetti and Giovannini and attended in person by Sergio Prete (President of the Port Network Authority), Riccardo Toto /General Manager of Renexia), Stefano Ciafani (President of Legambiente), Alessandro Cecchi Paone (journalist and science communicator), Guido Crosetto (entrepreneur) and Franco Bernabè (President of Acciaierie d’Italia).
At the end of the round table, the Port Network Authority signed an agreement with the company Beleolico srl for acquiring 10% of the electricity produced by the plant “Beleolico” when it becomes commercially operational; this electricity will be used to effectively cover the energy needs of the Port Network Authority. In this way, the Authority will be able to increase the amount of usable energy coming from renewable sources, which represents a best practice for the port community and for all the territory.
“The Beleolico plant – declared President Sergio Prete – represents a milestone for the ecological and energetic transition of the whole country. Yesterday’s agreement with Renexia will enable the Port Network Authority to obtain 50% of its energy supply from renewable sources starting from next year, which is seven years earlier than the 2030 deadline set by the European Community objectives. Moreover, the offer made the Port of Taranto is positively suited for maintenance operations and wind plant production thanks to its wide spaces and to the central Mediterranean position of the seaport, which aims at becoming a genuine hub in the renewables sector”.