The journal “WIRES Energy and Environment” hosts an in-depth review by RSE regarding the technical and economic aspects of floating offshore wind technology development in Italy and in the Mediterranean Sea. “Technical and economic challenges for floating offshore wind deployment in Italy and in the Mediterranean Sea”: this is the title of the article, which is written by Laura Serri and Francesco Lanni of the Department of Transmission and Distribution Technologies, Davide Airoldi and Roberto Naldi of the Department of Sustainable Development and Energy Sources, and six other external Italian and foreign co-authors.

In this article RSE offers a detailed analysis of offshore wind systems, which are already well developed in Northern European countries. 99% of offshore wind turbines are installed on fixed foundations in shallow waters. For areas with a water depth greater than 50 m (e.g., those of Italy and the Mediterranean Sea in general), floating wind turbines are the most suitable solution.

The two main challenges for the development of this technology in this area are the achievement of technological maturity on the one hand and economic feasibility on the other. Many studies addressed in this article have already carried out technical-economic assessments of offshore wind systems in different countries and geographical areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Non-technical aspects related to the development of floating wind systems are also considered, such as environmental impacts, supply chain, and decision-making processes.

The study reports the results of these analyses in an organized manner and aims to provide useful knowledge to decision makers and stakeholders to better understand the specific features of this promising sector.