Published on May 21, 2026
RWE has commenced construction of the Serra Giannina onshore wind farm in the municipality of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. The project will have an installed capacity of 42 MW and will consist of six wind turbines, each rated at 7 MW, making them among the most powerful units deployed in Italian onshore wind to date. Serra Giannina was awarded a contract for difference (CfD) under Italy’s FER-X renewable energy auction, giving the project long-term revenue certainty before a single turbine foundation was poured. Construction is now fully underway, with commissioning planned for 2027. The project adds to a growing RWE pipeline in Italy that also includes the 47 MW Serra Palino wind farm in Apulia and the 45 MW Venusia wind farm in Basilicata, both currently under construction following project starts in late 2025. A fourth project, the 66 MW Alas wind farm in Sardinia, broke ground earlier in 2026. Together, these four wind assets represent a significant commitment to onshore wind expansion across Italy’s wind-rich southern regions, underpinned by CfD support that mitigates merchant risk and encourages long-term financing.
Basilicata Becomes a Benchmark as Italy’s South Leads the Energy Transition
Serra Giannina’s construction start is another marker in the transformation of southern Italy into the engine room of the country’s renewable energy build-out. Basilicata, a mountainous region with consistently strong inland wind resources, has attracted growing developer interest precisely because its terrain and wind profile suit modern high-capacity turbines. RWE’s concurrent development of both Venusia and Serra Giannina in the same region reflects the kind of portfolio concentration that experienced developers pursue to extract operational and logistics efficiencies. Italy’s onshore wind installed base reached approximately 12 GW by end-2025, with Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily accounting for the bulk of that capacity. The country ranks among the top five EU markets for wind energy, and the FER-X auction mechanism has been instrumental in unlocking a new wave of construction starts after years of permitting delays. A comparable regional benchmark is EDP Renewables’ 35 MW Craco and Stigliano wind farm in central Basilicata, which was inaugurated in 2024 and demonstrated that the region can deliver operational wind assets at competitive timelines. RWE’s broader 235 MW construction portfolio across Italy, spanning wind and solar, signals that the company views the market as one of its most active European growth platforms in the near term. The momentum is also visible across Italy’s solar sector, including Neoen’s recently launched 24.7 MW Trio solar projects in Italy, reinforcing how utility-scale renewable deployment is accelerating simultaneously across both wind and photovoltaic technologies.
Project Fact Sheet
- Project Name: Serra Giannina Onshore Wind Farm
- Location: Municipality of Potenza, Basilicata, southern Italy
- Project Value: Estimated in the range of €50 million to €70 million based on comparable onshore wind CAPEX in Italy (approximately €1,100 to €1,400 per kW for onshore projects)
- Client / Owner: RWE Renewables Italia (subsidiary of RWE AG, Germany)
- Installed Capacity: 42 MW
- Turbine Configuration: Six wind turbines rated at 7 MW each
- Procurement Model: Contract for difference (CfD) awarded under Italy’s FER-X renewable energy auction
- Construction Start: May 2026
- Expected Commissioning: 2027
- Annual Output (Estimated): Sufficient to supply approximately 30,000 to 35,000 Italian households
- Strategic Impact: Part of RWE’s 235 MW Italian construction portfolio; contributes to Italy’s national renewable energy targets under the PNIEC (National Energy and Climate Plan)
- Environmental Features: Zero-emission energy generation in a wind-rich inland region; part of a broader portfolio that includes Agri-PV technology enabling dual land use
Project Team
- Client / Developer / Owner: RWE Renewables Italia S.r.l. (subsidiary of RWE AG)
- Parent Company: RWE AG, Essen, Germany
- Executive Sponsor: Katja Wünschel, CEO, RWE Renewables Europe and Australia
- Regulatory Authority: Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) — Italy’s national energy services manager, administrator of the FER-X CfD auction
- Grid Operator: Terna S.p.A. — Italy’s national electricity transmission system operator
- Turbine Supplier: Expected to be a Tier 1 manufacturer supplying 7 MW class turbines; Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, and Nordex are active in comparable Italian onshore projects
- Ministry Oversight: Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE), responsible for renewable energy permitting and auction oversight
