Spain's Capital Energy signals interest in offshore wind farms in Portugal

REN Redes Energeticas Nacionais SGPS SA

25/09/2023 16:23

By Sergio Goncalves
       LISBOA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Spanish renewable energy
firm Capital Energy has submitted requests for a preliminary
environmental analysis for three floating offshore wind farms
with a total power of 2 gigawatts, Portugal's environmental
agency APA said on Monday.
    In July, the Portuguese government set the capacity on offer
in its first offshore wind auction later this year at 2 GW in
three areas off the country's Atlantic coast, given the interest
it was attracting. 
    Portugal plans to launch successive auctions for a total of
10 GW until 2030.
    In a statement, APA said the request for preliminary
analysis by Capital Energy was an optional instrument, but
"allows for rationalising resources and time involved in
preparing the environmental impact study", which will be
necessary if the company wins the licences.
    The floating wind farms off the central and northern coast
will be installed in deep waters, where winds are stronger and
more continuous, allowing the generation of more power than
those fixed to the seabed near the shore or those on land.
    APA said two farms will have 40 wind turbines with a total
power of 600 megawatts from each farm, while a third park will
have 51 wind turbines with a capacity to generate a total of 765
MW.
    It said that the bulk of wind energy production would be to
supply electricity to grid operator REN  RENE.LS , while the
remainder would produce green hydrogen.
    Portugal already has a small, 25-megawatt floating wind
project off its Atlantic coast, which is owned by Ocean Winds, a
joint venture between Portugal's main utility EDP  EDP.LS  and
French company Engie  ENGIE.PA .
    Other utilities have also shown interest in such projects in
Portugal, including Germany's BayWa  BYWGnx.DE , the
Irish-Spanish consortium IberBlue Wind, fund manager Copenhagen
Infrastructure Partners, and a partnership between Portuguese
oil company Galp  GALP.LS  and France's TotalEnergies  TTEF.PA .

 (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Alison Williams)
 ((sergio.goncalves@thomsonreuters.com; +351213509204; Reuters
Messaging: sergio.goncalves.reuters.com@reuters.net))