The Renexia model
Renexia has developed a concrete and effective strategic and operational model for the development of renewable energy projects based on four elements: innovation, scientific approach, inclusiveness and sharing, and sustainability. Thanks to this value and methodological paradigm, Renexia is the frontrunner that is setting the pace for renewable energy in Italy. A model aimed at creating value for the communities hosting our projects, in full respect of the territory and its peculiarities.
The Renexia model
Innovation
Renexia’s goal is to deploy and exploit game-changing technologies that make a difference in terms of operability and sustainability. Our team consists of highly specialised engineers and experts, true pioneers who believe in Renexia’s vision and transfer innovation from projects to reality. In the adoption of innovative tools and technologies, Renexia has always played a pivotal role,
as witnessed by its national and international records.
In 2011, it completed the largest photovoltaic plant in public-private partnership in Europe.
It was the first company in Italy to issue a green bond to finance an onshore wind farm in Campania.
Through its subsidiary US Wind, it was one of the first industrial groups to take a chance on the potential of offshore wind energy off the American Atlantic coast, going so far as to acquire a concession for some of the largest areas entrusted by BOEM, the federal body responsible for offshore projects.
With Beleolico, it has put into operation the first marine wind farm in the entire Mediterranean, in Taranto.
Renexia was the first company in Italy to realise the potential of floating technology for the development of offshore wind farms in the Mediterranean, at distances from the coast that were previously unthinkable, and has undertaken an active dialogue with the relevant public authorities with the aim of adapting the permitting processes, auction and pricing mechanisms required for the development of innovative floating technology.
With the high-tech partnerships in the United States and Italy, it has actively contributed to the launching a public debate on the need for a new specialised industrial supply chain for offshore wind power, able to secure significant investments and the training of new professional skills, which can lead the way in the Mediterranean and in Europe.
The Renexia model
Scientific approach
Renexia works with prestigious research organisations, both Italian and international, to collect objective and incontrovertible data on the ecosystems targeted by its projects and make them available to the scientific community and the wider public. This is to enable informed and responsible choices to be made, scientifically grounded and respecting the environment and territories.
For the execution of offshore projects, technical-scientific investigations were carried out with the collaboration of outstanding partners in their respective fields of study.
The Jonian Dolphin Conservation carries out investigations to define the interactions of the wind farm with the rich fish fauna of the Gulf of Taranto, one of the most important cetacean paradises in the Mediterranean, both ante and post operam. Beleolico, in fact, represents a unicum and therefore constitutes an unprecedented case study. The results of the study, scientifically validated, may provide important indications to optimise the design of future offshore wind farms in full respect of the marine ecosystem.
To set up the environmental impact study for Med Wind, Renexia commissioned four oceanographic campaigns from internationally acclaimed independent research companies.
The first two environmental campaigns were carried out by the Marina Militare and Mainport Med. The Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, one of the world’s most authoritative institutions for the study of marine biology, scientifically examined and validated the results of the surveys carried out by marine biologists over an area of 2,500 square kilometres in the Strait of Sicily.
A special multi-parameter probe, called FLiDAR, carried out a detailed map of the winds, currents and wave motion to define the expected production, guarantee the correct orientation of the turbines, and ensure the economic sustainability of the project.
Geophysical, geotechnical and archaeological impact investigations were conducted under the supervision of Fugro, a Danish multinational company specialising in geotechnical investigations. For the anchorages and moorings, the US-based SEAS Geosciences carried out core drilling and deep sampling for the entire extent of the wind farm. The report compiling the results of these studies was prepared by RINA, the world’s leading certification and inspection body for the marine industry, for submission to the ministerial EIA commission.
The Renexia model
Inclusiveness and sharing
From the earliest project phases, Renexia seeks inclusion, listening, horizontality, and transparent dialogue with all stakeholders: citizens, institutions, local authorities, associations, professional sectors, unions, fisheries, and universities. In this way, the works carried out by Renexia become a ‘shared’ social heritage.
This commitment to transparently discuss the main challenges and opportunities opened up by its projects is based on the awareness that communities will be the real protagonists of change, and it is therefore essential to share tools and objectives with them.
Renexia has given substance to this profound conviction through the preparation of agreements and partnerships in the area aimed at giving further added value, of an economic and social nature, to its projects.
It has signed an agreement with the Ionian Sea Port Authority to allocate part of the energy produced by Beleolico to the electrification of the Taranto Port’s infrastructure.
With the Jonian Dolphin Conservation institute in Taranto, it is engaged in a series of educational activities to explain to schoolchildren and citizens the advantages of wind power technology in the challenge for the energy transition.
In Sicily, it has maintained an ongoing dialogue with the main trade unions, which has led to the signing of a specific framework agreement for the training and employment of resources in the supply chain for the Med Wind farm, as well as to ensure legality and compliance with regulations throughout the supply chain that will be involved in the implementation of the project.
With the aim of creating a virtuous circle of benefits induced by the new renewable technologies, Renexia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with some Sicilian municipalities for energy efficiency projects, upgrading of municipal public transport and port infrastructure, inspired by the smart city model.
Building on the fruitful dialogue established with American seafaring and fisheries, it promoted in Italy the opening of an institutional workshop for the fishing sector, to discuss the advantages and potential impacts of the Med Wind project. An engagement to identify effective measures to lessen the impact on fishing, and to exploit all possible synergies in order to ensure further development of the sector.
The Renexia model
Sustainability
For Renexia, social and economic sustainability is the value behind every project. It represents, in fact, a fundamental element to set the objectives of the energy transition, such that it also acquires a relevant public interest, to ensure social benefits for present and future generations, such as new training and employment opportunities, and urban and professional redevelopment.
Alongside Legambiente, Renexia has been a spokesperson for the benefits of offshore wind energy for the energy transition in Italy during the Goletta Verde tour and in the initiatives related to Sicilia Carbon Free. It is also among the companies associated with Kyoto Club to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy development policies. It collaborates with the UniVerde Foundation to support correct information and encourage good practices for a concrete energy transition. It supports Marevivo in its many initiatives to defend our seas, an environmental, cultural and economic heritage of inestimable value.
Renexia has designed its interventions to ensure the complete restoration of ecosystems and the recycling of the materials used, at the end of the plants’ life cycle.
All the plants designed by Renexia bring the country closer to the pollutant emission reduction targets set at EU level and implemented at national level. In particular, it is estimated that the construction of the Med Wind project alone will result in CO2 emissions savings of 2.85 million tonnes equivalent per year, equal to 2.42% of the climate-changing emissions of the Italian electricity sector in 2022.
The environmental benefits will have direct social and economic repercussions. The Med Wind project, for example, will result in substantial savings in bills for Sicilian users, estimated at least EUR 94 million per year. The planned investments will guarantee an increase in employment not only during the construction phase, but during the entire life of the plant for its operation and maintenance.
Finally, the construction of a plant with advanced technological features will allow the Italian companies involved to gain experience and know-how that may constitute a unique opportunity for development in other markets.