(Alliance News) - Plenitude, a benefit company of Eni Spa, and Simply Blue Group, an Irish developer of blue economy projects, announced Tuesday that they have signed an agreement to jointly develop a pipeline of new floating offshore wind projects in Italy.

This collaboration brings together Plenitude's technical, financial capabilities and experience in the Italian energy market with Simply Blue Group's established experience in developing floating wind projects globally.

The first two floating offshore wind projects, "Messapia" in Puglia and "Krimisa" in Calabria, have already been submitted to the relevant authorities. The Messapia project, located about 30 kilometers off the Otranto coast, will have a total capacity of 1.3 GW and will be able to provide annual energy production of about 3.8 TWh. The Krimisa project, located about 45km off the coast of Crotone, will have a total capacity of 1.1 GW and will be able to provide annual energy production of up to 3.5 TWh.

Overall, it is estimated that the two projects will be able to cover the energy needs corresponding to the electricity consumption of more than 2.5 million households, contributing to the country's decarbonization goals.

The partners will work alongside local communities and other key players in the sector to develop innovative technological solutions and consolidate the Italian supply chain in floating offshore wind.

Stefano Goberti, managing director of Plenitude, commented, "With this partnership, Plenitude expands its portfolio of floating wind projects in line with its goal of reaching 15GW of renewable capacity by 2030 and reaffirms its commitment to the creation of an offshore wind supply chain in Italy. For Plenitude, offshore wind is a key contributor to the energy transition path and the achievement of its 2040 carbon neutrality targets to provide fully decarbonized energy to our customers."

Eni's stock is down 0.5 percent at EUR14.26 per share.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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