Saipem to Build Floating Wind Farm in Saudi Arabia

Italian services company Saipem said it will design and built a 500 megawatt (MW) floating offshore wind farm in Saudi Arabia under a memorandum of understanding and exclusive agreement with Abu Dhabi based renewables solutions firm Plambeck Emirates.

The project phases will commence in the coming weeks via Plambeck Saudi, a Plambeck company located in Riyadh, Saipem said.

Saipem plans to start operations after finalizing financial agreements at the end of the planning phase, after which the contract will be signed for Saipem to undertake the engineering, design, construction and installation of the entire project and related services.

Francesco Balestrino, Renewables and Green Tech Product Manager of the Xsight division, commented: "We believe that the wind market in Saudi Arabia can be supported by innovative solutions for the construction of offshore wind farms, such as the Saipem technology Hexafloat, with an accelerated program and reduced costs. Initiating the new market in Saudi Arabia is an important opportunity to be seized and we are ready with Plambeck for this new challenge."

Norbert Plambeck, shareholder of Plambeck Emirates, said, "The development of the 500 MW floating offshore wind farm project is part of the new 5 GW "Wind Market” concept, which has been proposed to Saudi Arabia. We are very proud to have a global solution provider with international experience like Saipem, with whom we can carry the next development phases of the project. Furthermore, the implementation of the project with Saipem, a solid international group, is already technically assured."