Renewable energy

Offshore wind power: Mase cuts funding, with the ports of Taranto and Augusta bearing the brunt

by Domenico Palmiotti

23 September 2026

Aggiungi Il Sole 24 Ore
ai preferiti su Google

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

From 78 million to just over 38. The Ministry of the Environment is cutting the funds earmarked for investment in offshore wind power for ports, and the two ports identified as national hubs for this type of activity – Taranto and Augusta – are bearing the brunt of the cuts. The former’s allocation has been cut from 28.5 million euros to 13.94 million, whilst the latter’s has been reduced from 49.8 million to 24.359 million.

The cut was communicated in recent days to the Port Authorities of the Ionian Sea and the Eastern Sicilian Sea and to the private office of the Minister for the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, by the Directorate-General for Energy Sources and Licences (Department of Energy) in a memorandum from the Director-General, Marilena Barbaro.

Mase: across-the-board cuts to expenditure categories

“Following across-the-board cuts to this ministry’s expenditure headings,” writes Barbaro, “it has been necessary to scale back the resources initially available for infrastructure projects aimed at developing the offshore sector, which totalled over 78 million euros”. And now, adds Barbaro, “in order to commit these remaining resources at short notice”, the Port Authorities of the Ionian Sea and the Eastern Sicilian Sea are invited “to confirm their acceptance of the reallocation of resources at the earliest opportunity, providing details of the infrastructure projects – already included in their applications – which the Authorities believe they can finance with the specified resources and which are, in any case, consistent with the objectives of the legislation”. It now remains to be seen whether the cut announced by Mase is a temporary one and whether further resources may subsequently be made available to compensate for it.

Taranto’s expectations for the post-Ilva era

Taranto, in particular, had placed great emphasis on the potential to invest in offshore wind power – creating business opportunities, a supply chain and new jobs – especially in the wake of the crisis at the former Ilva, which had also dragged the port down with it. Offshore wind power was, in fact, seen as a new opportunity to breathe new life into the port itself, which had seen a significant decline in traffic as a result of reduced steel production and the failure of the container terminal operated by the Turkish group Yilport to get off the ground.

Now this potential scenario is in danger of falling through or, at the very least, being significantly scaled back, which will also affect the projects that various companies had envisaged for Taranto. From Renexia to Vestas and finally to Nadara, the company that intends to build two large wind farms in the Adriatic Sea (Salento and Brindisi) and which has expressed its intention to make use of Taranto’s infrastructure.

Pichetto Fratin: we will restore the resources

“The legislation dates from 2023, the decree from 2025; Giorgetti has withdrawn a portion of the funds that had not yet been spent. It amounts to 38 million; we’re not talking about billions. Thirty-eight million which, incidentally, will not be spent in the second half of this year, because this all stems from the reminder letter sent by management to the Port Authority. Thirty-eight million which I am committed to reinstating in the 2027 budget. The figures, it is true, are not opinions, but we will replenish these resources’. So said Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister for the Environment, on offshore funds whilst speaking at Confindustria during the press conference on the 2026 edition of ‘I colori dell’energia’, to be held in Brindisi from 15 to 17 October.

Decaro: Government must implement the decision already taken

“We have called for the port of Taranto to truly become a hub for offshore wind power and for the decision that had already been taken to be implemented,” said Antonio Decaro, President of the Puglia Region, as he left the summit between local authorities and the Government at Palazzo Chigi on 8 September regarding the former Ilva site. For Decaro, offshore wind power is one of the points on the ‘Taranto Agenda’ that the Apulian governor has proposed to the Government in light of the situation regarding the former Ilva site. And in recent months, speaking in Taranto at a conference on port development, the Minister for the Environment, Pichetto Fratin, had said: “Taranto plays a significant role as a port for the future development of the new offshore wind energy market. ‘Through a decree,’ he added, ‘we have identified two Italian hubs – Taranto and Augusta – to establish the national production lines. Production not only for Italia, but taking place in the heart of the Mediterranean, and which must therefore aim to become the hub for the entire Mediterranean system. This means there is a need to plan, at a regional level, the use of a whole range of areas – starting with state-owned land that the port authorities will have to identify – for the development of industrial activities involving the assembly, production and repair of the equipment. This is the challenge we are facing in the specific case of Taranto, but one that must also address the opportunities for the country as a whole. A country that can make its port infrastructure one of its major driving forces.”

What is happening with the redevelopment of the port areas

Finally, the retraining of port workers is also partly linked to the port’s conversion to offshore wind power, and they have been waiting for some time for the training courses to begin. There are 307 former TCT-Evergreen workers who have been out of work for years; they are registered with the Port Labour Agency and receive the ‘indennità di mancato avviamento’ (IMA), the port workers’ redundancy scheme. Both the Agency’s mandate and the allowance are due to expire at the end of the year, and efforts are currently underway to secure a further extension.

Confindustria Taranto’s concerns

“We can only express our deep concern and alarm at the decision by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security to drastically reduce the resources earmarked for investment in the development of the offshore wind sector in ports, with the funds initially allocated to Taranto and Augusta being halved.” This was stated by the president of Confindustria Taranto, Salvatore Toma. “We hope,” Toma emphasises, “that this is a temporary adjustment and that the funds can be fully restored – with provision for further increases – in the forthcoming Budget Bill. This is an outcome we strongly hope for. At such a critical juncture, any investment capable of generating new supply chains and new jobs should be bolstered rather than, as is currently happening, drastically scaled back.”