Portugal is keen to create an offshore wind cluster that could reach up to 10 gigawatts
Portugal's Government said on Friday that it is keen to create a cluster wind farms off the coast of its Atlantic Ocean. The total power of these wind farms could reach around 10 gigawatts.
Lisbon approved last week four areas where offshore wind farms could be installed. This is a big step towards the launch of the first offshore license auction that it plans to conduct this year.
The plan, which was drawn up by the Economy Ministry in coordination with Environment Ministry, envisages an occupation of over 2,000 square kilometers (772 square miles).
Lidia Bulcao, Secretary of State of the Sea, said that the plan will "allow the development of offshore renewable energy clusters in Portugal", as it already has an environmental strategic assessment.
The government stated that it wants to attract investments and develop the industry. It also said it is important to "create scale and predictability on a medium-term basis".
The Environment Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho stated that Portugal wants to install and allocate 2 GW through electricity auctions by 2030. However, its ambitions extend beyond this.
"Later on, depending upon the maturity of the process, we may move gradually towards licensing up 10 GW. She said that we are taking decisive action in this field.
Ocean Winds is a joint venture of Portugal's largest utility EDP with French company Engie. It owns a 25-megawatt small floating wind project near Viana do Castelo.
Other utilities, such as Germany's BayWa and the Irish-Spanish IberBlue Wind consortium, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and a joint venture of Portugal's Galp with France's TotalEnergies, have expressed interest in the auction.
Bulcao stated that the plan "promotes legal certainty and transparency, and ensures the creation of new economic opportunities and technological innovations is done in a sustained way". (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese; Sergio Goncalves)
(source: Reuters)
