Vestas says it has reached 3 GW of installed wind energy capacity in Italy, which represents 40% of the country’s total installed base.
Vestas has sold, installed and serviced nine generations of turbines – ranging from V27 – 225 kW to V100-1.8 MW for the Santa Luce wind farm, V100-2.6 MW for the Orta Nova one and V112-3.0 MW, recently ordered for the Gorgoglione Guardia Perticara project, the first in the country with this wind turbine.
During these 14 years, Vestas turbines have been transported and erected in the more traditional sites, such as central and southern Italy or the islands, as well as in regions where wind power plants had never been installed before, as in Valle D’Aosta.
The maximized production of the wind farms has been supported and enhanced during these years through service agreements and optimized maintenance schedules and service dedicated applications, such as the Weather & Power Forecast tool.
From north to south, the installed wind farms have contributed to diversifying the Italian energy mix, advance the country’s renewable energy agenda, create a highly specialized supply chain and enhance the creation of green jobs – in many cases in remote areas of the country.
“This is another important milestone for wind energy in Italy and a source of hope for the entire sector in these difficult times,” states Simone Togni, President of the Italian Wind Energy Association (ANEV), who continues, “Wind has great potential in Italy and this needs to be fully unlocked, not only for EU 2020 and post 2020 objectives, which the country has committed to, but also because of the benefits it can bring at many different levels. It allows Italy to have clean energy at a cost which is not linked to the price of fossil fuels’, as well as contributing to energy independence, and fostering economic development and employment – two areas which Italy needs to improve on. ANEV’s is now relying on the National Energy Strategy (SEN) to outline the future national energy scenario, in which the most efficient renewable energy sources must play an even more decisive role.”
“Our products, the local service set up and long-lasting partnerships built and fostered with the customers on the territory, allowed us to reach this target and we look forward reaching other important milestone in the country,” affirms Juan Araluce, Acting President, Vestas Mediterranean and Chief Sales Officer, Vestas Wind Systems A/S.
“We have always believed in wind as a fundamental element of the Italian energy portfolio and as pioneer of the sector we are proud of having boosted it and we will continue doing so,” declares Rainer Karan, General Manager, Vestas Italia, who continues, “Until now, the sector in Italy has experienced a constant growth of around 1000 MW per year, with an overall installed capacity of more than 7,400 MW. There is much more to do for Italy to reach the 2020 objectives and it is up to the new auction system to allow the market to follow this growth rate, considered the newly introduced feed in tariff scheme with the respective installation capacity limitations.”
Vestas has now reached 3000 MW of installed capacity in Italy, hitting 40% of the total installed base in the country. At the same time, this equals 25% of Italy’s renewable energy obligation under the EU 2020 targets. This significant milestone results from 14 years of commitment and partnership with Italian customers and the country’s energy sector stakeholders.
