Italy's Saipem has signed an agreement to build a 450 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm in the Adriatic Sea in northern Italy, the energy services group said on Tuesday.
Saipem has agreed with renewable energy companies AGNES and QINT'X to install 56 wind turbines at two sites off the coast of Italian port city Ravenna, it said in a statement.
The project's contract value could be worth up to 600 million euros ($710 million) for Saipem, said a source close to the matter.
"Saipem plans to start a similar (wind) project in Sicily and in Sardinia," said Mauro Piasere, chief operating officer of Saipem's XSIGHT division, which offers engineering services for the renewables sector among others.
Saipem, a market leader in subsea exploration and construction, has been looking increasingly to offshore wind as part of a move to develop new lines of business to meet a growing client focus on green technologies.
Last year it signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Plambeck Emirates to build a 500 MW floating wind farm off the cost of Saudi Arabia.
