Renewable

December 14 (Renewables Now) - The Spanish government on Friday approved the national road map for the development of ocean-based renewables aiming to enable the deployment of up to 3 GW of floating wind and up to 60 MW of various types of marine energy by 2030.

The government will support the plan by releasing at least EUR 200 million (USD 226m) of public funds from the recovery and resilience facility to finance research and development (R&D) of new offshore technologies, strengthen the nation’s testing platforms and create the best environment for the trial of new prototypes, it said. Another EUR 500 million to EUR 1 billion will need to be invested in port infrastructure.

Spain has not developed bottom-fixed offshore wind farms since its territorial waters are too deep to make such projects viable, says the government. Nevertheless, the country has more than 20 years of experience in building land-based wind farms and boasts a well developed domestic value chain to make the transition to floating wind power technologies.

“Of the 27 floating solutions currently identified worldwide, seven are Spanish patents,” it is stated in the road map.

The government now expects the domestic industrial and innovation capabilities to further heat up and enable Spain to have between 1 GW and 3 GW of floating wind capacity and 40 MW to 60 MW of other marine energies in pre-commercial phase by the end of the decade.

The whole plan is meant to make Spain Europe’s and global point of reference when it comes to technology R&D, enhance its industrial capabilities, create quality jobs and ensure orderly deployment of ocean-based renewable energy installations, the government added.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.131)