Spain wants to become the benchmark for floating wind energy in Europe

Spain is one of the world leaders in onshore wind energy. In fact, wind has become this year the main source of electricity generation in the country above nuclear energy. But the country has never gotten on the train of offshore wind mainly due to a physical issue: the Spanish territorial waters are very deep and this technology needs a fixed foundation, something that is impossible from 50 meters deep. But floating wind, which does not have these requirements, is making its way and the Government aspires to become the European benchmark for this technology.

The Council of Ministers has approved this Friday the roadmap for the “development of offshore wind and marine energy in Spain”. This strategy, developed by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, pays special attention to floating technology. The Executive aspires that in 2030 the country will have between 1 and 3 gigawatts (GW) of this renewable energy, which would mean that in the best of scenarios 40% of all installed capacity in the EU by the end of this decade would be in Spain, according to the plans that the European institutions have.

The roadmap designed by Ecological Transition foresees that at least 200 million euros of public funds will be allocated until 2023 for the development of prototypes and tests. According to the information provided by the ministry, of the 27 “floating solutions for wind turbines” that are now underway around the world, “seven are Spanish”. The funds for the promotion of Spanish research would also come out of the European recovery plan.

The department of Vice President Teresa Ribera has emphasized that the plan approved this Friday in the Council of Ministers “guarantees the orderly deployment of facilities in territorial waters, so that it is respectful of the environment, compatible with other uses and activities and is used to improve knowledge of the marine environment.”

The great deployment of renewables that is being experienced in Spain is sometimes running into local opposition due to the impacts on the landscape or the environment. Although there is no project approved yet in Spain of offshore wind at the moment and most of them are mere declarations of intent of companies, it is also happening with this technology, which worries the tourism sector for its possible visual impact on the coast. In June, the Government decided to apply a kind of moratorium and has not yet accepted “new applications for administrative authorization and for the reservation of an area in the territorial sea” for this type of project. This reserve is the essential preliminary step for the processing of offshore wind projects to begin, as set out in the 2007 royal decree that regulates this technology.

The veto imposed in June will be lifted when, in addition to the roadmap that the Council of Ministers has carried out this Friday, the maritime spatial planning plans of the five existing Spanish marine demarcations, which are currently in the public information phase, are approved. These plans set out the activities that can be carried out in Spanish territorial waters and also establish limitations. The ministry has insisted this Friday that the objective pursued is “to deploy in an orderly way the facilities, wind in particular, with a clear and predictable regulation.”

In addition to wind energy, the roadmap also contemplates the promotion of other renewable technologies linked to the sea. And it foresees that by 2030 up to 60 megawatts (MW) of other energies still in the pre-commercial phase will be installed, such as those that take advantage of the force of waves and tides.

Source: The Country