Portugal identifies areas for 10 GW of offshore wind, country preparing for first offshore wind tender

Portugal’s Ministry of Economy and Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action have released draft areas for offshore wind development as part of the government’s plan to award 10 GW of capacity that would be grid-connected by 2030.

The preliminary proposal for the areas is, as of today, 30 January, under a 30-day public consultation that will yield feedback and input from the industry, local communities, and stakeholders.

The areas preliminarily proposed for commercial offshore renewable energy projects are located in waters off Viana do Castelo (expanding the already existing area), Leixões, Figueira da Foz, Ericeira and Sintra-Cascais, and Sines. Together, these areas can make it possible to reach the 10 GW target, according to the document.

Along with offshore wind sites, the ministries have also defined potential grid connection points along the Portuguese coast.

Furthermore, according to the document, future offshore wind projects in the country could be complemented by wave energy, which is also one of the offshore renewable energy sources deemed feasible for Portuguese waters which, due to their seabed and wind conditions, are predominantly suitable for floating wind technology.

To identify and delineate offshore wind sites, an inter-ministerial working group assigned with the task took as a reference the lessons from the pre-commercial WindFloat Atlantic project, installed in 2019 off Viana do Castelo, as well as the studies and work previously carried out by those with offshore renewable energy expertise while taking into account, at the same time, the aim to minimise the impact on existing activities in Portugal’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The public consultation for the draft areas was announced on 23 January by Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who said the country planned to launch its first international offshore wind energy auction by the last quarter of this year.

The Prime Minister was also the first to announce the offshore wind target of 10 GW by 2030, during his speech at the United Nations Ocean Conference, held last year in Lisbon. In September 2022, the country’s Environment Minister said Portugal would offer 10 GW of capacity through its first offshore wind auction and that the auction was expected to take place in 2023.

On September 23, the government created the working group that was tasked with completing a report on preliminary areas by 31 December.

The areas proposed in the report now put up for consultation will serve as a reference for the subsequent work towards the offshore wind tender and, at the same time, contribute to the fulfilment of an Order issued on 7 December 2022, which provides for the preparation of Allocation Plan for Offshore Renewable Energies, aiming at the integration of potential areas for commercial offshore renewable energies in Portugal’s Maritime Spatial Plan.