MAESTRALE is an interregional cooperation project implemented under the Interreg MED Programme, Priority Axis 1 “Promoting Mediterranean innovation capacities to develop smart and sustainable growth”, Specific Objective 1.1 “To increase transnational activity of innovative clusters and networks of key sectors of the MED area”.
The project partnership, led by the University of Siena, is formed by ten organizations from eight different EU countries: Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Spain, and Portugal. Partners include universities, energy and development agencies, and business clusters.
MAESTRALE intends to lay the basis for a Marine Energy Deployment Strategy in the Mediterranean. Based on a survey of existing and innovative technologies, hindrances and potentials in participating countries, it aims to widen knowledge sharing among scientists, policy makers, entrepreneurs and citizens and prompt effective actions and investments for blue growth. Notwithstanding the large number of academic and technical studies in the field of renewable blue energy, there is indeed a lack of concrete initiatives and operating plants in the MED area. To fill this gap, project partners will cooperate to detect marine renewable energy potentials in participating countries as regards their physical, legal, technological, environmental and socio-economic contexts.
The main output will consist in the creation in each participating region of informal networks called Blue Energy Labs (BEL). BELs will involve local enterprises, public authorities, knowledge institutions and citizens and – supported by a transnational network created by the project at Mediterranean level – will operate to plan concrete strategies for blue growth and to outline 20 pilot projects, which will serve the purpose of raising awareness among local stakeholders, facilitating social acceptance, decreasing uncertainty and increasing feasibility of concrete interventions.
The project started in November 2016 and will end in October 2019. Activities carried out up to know include:
- Study visits to Blue Energy installations in Italy and Sweden
- Overview of laws and regulations affecting Blue Energy development in each country
- Identification and analysis of promising technologies for marine energy exploitation
- Survey of the key actors to involve in project activities
- Design of an online geodatabase as a decision support tool for Blue Energy initiatives
- Preliminary analysis of the Blue Energy potential in each country, as well as of the main constraints and challenges to face.
