Spain floats €200M grant program plan for marine renewable energy pilots

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) of Spain has drafted a plan for four aid programs totaling €200 million, designed to boost investment in pilot projects, test platforms, and port infrastructure for marine renewable energy.

Initially supported with €200 million from the Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), the aid program will promote new projects, technologies or installations of marine renewable infrastructures that will contribute to the development of these technologies in Spain.

The PRTR is a national project defining the roadmap for the modernization of the Spanish economy, for the recovery of economic growth and job creation, for a robust, inclusive and resilient economic rebuilding after the Covid-19 crisis, and to respond to the challenges of the coming decade.

The Institute for Energy Diversification and Savings (IDAE), under MITECO, will be in charge of managing these grants, which will be awarded on a competitive basis and implemented as a non-refundable grants for the beneficiaries.

According to MITECO, during the assessment of the projects, the incorporation of equipment to improve knowledge of the marine environment, the search for synergies with other activities – such as aquaculture or fishing – and the assessment of potential impacts on the marine environment, will be taken into account.

In addition, test platforms located in marine areas belonging to islands or provinces that contain municipalities included in the Just Transition Zones will be prioritized, MITECO noted.

The €200 million incentives program for marine energy pilots has been divided into four subprograms, each one awarded with a preliminary budget of €50 million.

These include test platforms for marine renewables at research organizations, other test platforms for marine renewables, marine renewable technology demonstrations, and joint projects for marine renewable technology testing platforms and demonstrators.

A proposed legislation, that will establish the regulatory bases for the marine energy pilots grant programs, has been put to public consultation. According to MITECO, comments on the draft ministerial order and draft resolution for the first call must be sent in until August 31, 2022.

Given the incentive nature of the grants, only projects whose execution has not started prior to the grant application will be accepted, MITECO said.

Also, the projects must be completed before June 30, 2026 and must respect the principle of ‘not causing significant damage’ to the environment.

The economic support will be specified in each call. The amount for support may be increased by 20% in the case of small companies, and by 10% if they are awarded to medium-sized companies.

The incentive plan for marine energy pilots is in line with Spain’s roadmap for the development of offshore wind power and marine energy, which set an objective to reach 1 to 3GW of floating offshore wind power, and between 40 and 60MW of marine energy installed capacity by 2030.

MITECO sees marine energy as one of the pillars of energy transition in the medium and long-term at a national, European and global level, due to its energy potential and for its industrial, economic and social opportunities for Spain.

Offshore wind power, which is accelerating its technological and industrial development, can generate electricity in a stable and predictable way, since it allows its production to be increased in the autumn and winter seasons, periods of less solar radiation and greater consumption.

In this way, it contributes to guaranteeing security of supply. On the other hand, marine energies are currently transition from the pre-commercial to the commercial stage, and have enormous strategic potential beyond 2030, MITECO said.

Therefore, the proposed aid program is expected to boost the position of Spain as an international reference point for testing of new marine renewables prototypes and technological solutions.

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