Edison announced on Wednesday that it had acquired a 50% share in a company with a specific purpose to develop a floating offshore wind project of 975 megawatts (MW) in Sicily.

According to the national energy and climate policy, Italy has not yet installed any floating offshore wind farms. However, it aims to produce nearly two-thirds of its electricity using renewable sources by 2030.

The European Commission recently approved a scheme of state aid that could amount to 35.3 billion Euros ($38 billion) in the next 20-years, which will support the construction and operation of green energy plants using innovative technologies such as offshore wind.

The Italian subsidiary of French energy group EDF stated that Wind Energy Pozzallo, a special purpose company, had already filed for approval by the Energy Ministry to the project. It added its construction could take up to three years.

Edison estimates that a wind farm to be constructed in the Mediterranean Sea, 25 km off the coast of Sicily's coastal town of Pozzallo will prevent the emission of 780,000 tonnes carbon dioxide per year.

The agreement will allow Edison to accelerate their growth plan in renewable energies, which envisages increasing Edison's green energy capacity from its current 2 gigawatts (GW) to a 5 GW by the year 2030.

Edison invested in Wind Energy Pozzallo through Blunova, an energy company that specializes in renewable sources. Reporting by Romolo tosiani, Editing by Francesca Landini & Keith Weir