Sustainable energy: the power of the wind

Winds across Italy

Strategically located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy is lulled by winds from all sides, with the breeze hitting the coasts and funneling into the hills. Whether it is mistral, libeccio, sirocco or gregale, the winds that hit Italy make a frequent appearance, often with extreme strength, sometimes causing irreparable damage. It is therefore not surprising to discover that 5% of the European wind power is located in Italy.

Wind energy as a sustainable source

The use of wind as a sustainable source of energy is growing rapidly in the world, and this major development sees Italy critically involved. The push for innovation is due both to the pursuit of internal and external policies, but also to various economic benefits intertwined with a widespread growing sensitivity towards sustainability. By the end of July 2019, wind farms in Italy reached 10.7 GW (with almost 7100 turbines), following a development that has led the global wind farming capacity to increase by 75 times in the last twenty years (according to the data reported by the International Agency for Renewable Energy).

Some data on wind energy

In the first six months of 2020, the newly installed wind systems, photovoltaic panels and hydroelectric systems gathered a total of 554 MW, more than 200 MW higher than the figure recorded in the same period last year (+ 64%). Thanks to the new wind farms, the wind energy alone reached 300 MW in the first six months, three times the amount of the previous year. An analysis made by the Italian company Enea (the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) reported the highest peak of energy in June.

Furthermore, wind power will become the first source of electricity in Europe within a few years, according to the IEA (International Energy Agency). It is estimated that wind power will represent over 20% of the overall power production in Europe by 2027, even earlier than what the data had previously forecasted. Moreover, according to a report recently released by the IEA, offshore wind will undergo exponential growth over the next twenty years.

More specifically, the IEA notes that global offshore wind capacity could increase by 15 times and will be able to attract approximately one thousand billion investments by 2040. This development will be benefitting from budget cuts, new government policies concerning renewable energy and the support of significant technological innovations, including the construction of new larger turbines with floating foundations.