Offshore wind: 56 billion production shortfall from delayed Fer 2 auctions

If the delay in the start-up of the Fer 2 auctions, still at the pole, continues, for offshore wind energy the 'cost' will translate into 31 billion in added value burned, 400 thousand jobs not activated, with a negative impact in terms of revenue for the state coffers of 13 billion. These are the estimates contained in the study that the Polytechnics of Turin and Bari, with Intesa Sanpaolo, Prometeia and Owemes, have formulated on behalf of Aero (the Offshore Renewable Energy Association) and whose results will be illustrated today by president Fulvio Mamone Capria during a conference organised at Key Energy in Rimini.

"Italia can build a national and European industrial model through the development of the offshore wind sector, guaranteeing new employment and economic growth also aimed at creating an integrated Italian supply chain and achieving national energy independence. The results and numbers of the study are surprising," explains the association's number one. "Faced with around 2.8 GW of offshore wind projects that have passed the environmental impact assessment, a Fer 2 auction has not yet been scheduled, despite the fact that the Mase decree was issued in August 2024 with an availability scenario of 3.8 GW of incentive auctions."

In short, the association is calling for a clear signal on this front, as Mamone Capria himself emphasises. "The appeal we are making to the government is to act quickly to avoid the huge investments spent by the various development companies being diverted to other Mediterranean countries, losing credibility, competitiveness and industrial development," explains the president. The numbers, on the other hand, are very clear: if the auctions start on time, the activation will result in significant growth for the entire supply chain: 129 billion in activated production, 56 billion in added value (2.8% of Italy's GDP 2024), 25 billion in tax revenues, and over 800 thousand employees, the study calculates.

If one waits, is the message, the benefits for the system will, therefore, be much smaller, as Ksenia Balanda, Nadara's Italy offshore wind manager, also points out. "The study clearly shows that for offshore wind development the time factor is crucial. The sooner we start, the sooner the national economy will benefit from the more than EUR 56 billion in added value that this technology can generate by 2050. And when I say start I mean something concrete: timetabling the auctions without which the projects will remain on paper. The government can make a difference. Delaying even one year would halve the opportunities and make Italia lose a value equal to Sardinia's GDP'.