Renexia, a Toto Group company active in the renewable-energy sector, has signed an agreement with Seas Geosciences, part of Sealaska’s Woocheen ocean-health group of businesses, to study the most environmentally sustainable mooring and anchoring solutions for the turbines at Med Wind, a floating offshore wind farm project in the Mediterranean.

To support the project, Seas will use innovative sampling methods with its unique, remotely operated systems to investigate the underwater environment. Seas will deploy its robotic seafloor drill and cone penetration testing up to 40 meters below the seafloor, in water more than 900 meters deep, to acquire geotechnical information about geohazards at the project site in the Sicily Channel. The work will enable Renexia to define and design the most appropriate seabed anchoring systems for the turbines and ensure maximum attention to the surrounding ecosystem.

Seas has partnered with the Italian company Argo to supply the vessel it will use as a base for the seafloor work.

"We are proud to be able to collaborate with an international company like Sealaska that shares with Renexia the values of environmental sustainability and care for the local community,” said Riccardo Toto, Renexia's General Manager. “Renexia, with Med Wind, has the potential to become a point of reference in Italy for the promotion of renewables and encourage the path of energy transition needed for the country. Not only that, the project will create an important supply chain through which significant added value will be produced for the local economy."

Med Wind will be built gradually in stages, reaching a full installation of up to 190 turbines capable of generating total clean energy of about 9 Twh, equal to the energy needs of 3.4 million households. It will add local jobs over the six years of construction of the plant and for maintenance activities in the 25 years that follow. The project will also contribute to lowering the cost of energy for Sicilians.

“Our goal is to use the latest technology, ideas and tools to understand what’s going on below the ocean floor, working with others of like minds to generate clean energy from our oceans in the least invasive way possible,” said Paolo Casciotti, Seas president. “We will make a complete map of what’s happening beneath the seabed, and we’ll do it with minimal environmental risks while keeping our people safe.”

As part of Woocheen, Seas draws inspiration from the shared heritage of Sealaska’s 25,000 Alaska Native shareholders, whose people have lived in relationship with land and ocean for 10,000 years. That connection over millennia informs the company’s focus on ocean health. Moreover, Seas’ profits directly support Alaska Native communities with scholarships, economic opportunity, revitalization of Indigenous culture and language, and more.

“We’re using our proceeds to support the people who inspired our bold vision,” Casciotti said. “And we’re committed to improving our capabilities to work toward that vision every single day.”