Enel to Build Offshore Mediterranean Windfarm of up to 575 Megawatts

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In July 2008, the Italian utilities company Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) (Rome, Italy) began the process of obtaining permission to build an offshore windfarm of up to 575 megawatts (MW) in the Gela Gulf off of the Sicilian Mediterranean coast. Enel SpA has requested the environmental impact assessment from the Environmental Ministry and the regional government of Sicily. The project will be carried out by the joint venture formed by Enel, which owns a 53% stake, and the Sicilian Moncada Energy Group Srl (Agrigento, Italy), which holds the remaining 47%.

The windfarm, one of the first offshore windfarms located in the Mediterranean, is to be made up of 115 wind generators with a 3 MW to 5 MW capacity each. The wind generators will be mounted on towers that are 110 meters tall that will be anchored on the seabed in waters up to 30 meters deep.

Once the permits are granted the owners will call for bids for technical consulting and a general contractor with seabed experience. The onshore civil and electrical works will be carried out by the Enel-Moncada joint venture. The construction kickoff is planned to take place in the beginning of 2009, with a completion date scheduled for January 2013. The total investment for the project will be about $718 million.

Enel SpA is the most important utility company in Italy, with an installed capacity 75,000 MW in Italy and abroad. At present, it is the world leader in the renewable energy sector with a total installed capacity of 30,000 MW around the world. In December 2006, Enel SpA launched its "Environment and Innovation Project," a $5.6 billion investment program for the production of 1,700 MW using new environmentally friendly technologies.

Moncada Energy Group Srl is a Sicilian firm dedicated to the development, construction and operation of power generation plants, especially from renewable sources. Currently, Moncada is one of the largest private Italian producers of renewable energy from wind power, with a current installed capacity of 103.5 MW and plans to develop over 1,000 MW more in Italy, Albania and Bulgaria.

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