No time to waste if Spain is to hit offshore wind goals, say top developers

The Spanish government needs to launch its inaugural offshore wind auction without further delay in order to meet its 2030 energy and climate targets, according to leading executives with top developers.

Spain issued a royal decree last week unveiling a long-awaited regulatory framework for offshore wind, and did so just as Ocean Winds was hosting a visit by Spanish reporters to the company’s flagship floating wind project.

"This is a game-changer, not just for Spain but for the global energy landscape. It's the energy transition evolving from a vision to a legacy in the making – a tangible future we’re building together," director of new business Manuel Fernandez wrote in a LinkedIn post about the announcement

However, past delays in advancing the regulatory process for offshore mean Spain has no more time to waste if it wants to reach its targeted 3GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, Fernandez added.

His comments were reported in the Spanish media following a press visit to the pioneering WindFloat Atlantic floating offshore wind project in Portugal.

The regulatory measures announced last week outlined a competitive process that will feature a 'one-stop shop' for acquiring 50-year seabed rights, offtake terms under a contracts for difference system and grid access.

Fernandez noted that some key outstanding matters including the auction calendar and definitive bidding criteria could imply a wait of at least six months before the call to tender is actually published.

He said the 3GW target, which forms part of Spain’s updated National Integrated Energy & Climate Plan (PNIEC), is still viable but only if Spain holds its promised offshore wind tender in 2025.

The Ocean Winds joint venture was created by clean energy giants Engie and EDP Renewables in 2020 and headquartered in Madrid with the aim of being a “protagonist” in the development of floating offshore wind power in Spain, said José Pinheiro, Ocean Winds’ Southern Europe head.

"As long as there are areas to be made available, a grid connection and a willingness of [central and regional] governments to develop projects, we will be there," he told the reporters.

Fernandez was wary about trying to progress on too many fronts simultaneously and suggested that it would make sense to start with offshore wind opportunities in the Canary Islands, where he said initial business drivers were strongest in terms of “energy and economic reasons”, then move to other regions such as Galicia, Catalonia or Asturias.

Iberdrola caution

Ignacio Galan, executive chairman of Spanish utility Iberdrola, expressed similar views says before the regulatory framework was announced.

In another press event, this time to inaugurate the €2.4bn ($2.7bn) Saint-Brieuc offshore wind project in France, Galan warned that Spain’s offshore wind ambitions, which are essentially focused on floating, will only come to fruition in the long-term.

Galan made it clear that Iberdrola, just like Ocean Winds, sees the Canary Islands as the logical starting point for Spanish ambitions.

“It will take years for [Spanish offshore wind] to become a reality, the most likely place for the first offshore wind farm will be in the Canaries,” he said.

Steep to deep

Galan pointed out that Spain is particularly challenging because of the steeply shelving seabed which rapidly reaches deep water, both in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic – making less mature floating wind the technology of choice.

“This is not to say that [Iberdrola] will not be in floating wind… we will be one of the first companies to do floating wind, but this is not a technology for today or even tomorrow,” he said, pointing out the Iberdrola is also developing floating in Scotland and monitoring opportunities in California and Maine in the US.

In its strategy presentations, Iberdrola has identified offshore wind plays off the Spanish mainland regions of Galicia and Andaluzia among areas of interest, in addition to the Canary Islands.

Spain's government also approved an updated National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), setting more ambitious emissions and renewables targets for 2030, in line with Europe-wide 2050 guidelines and commitments.

The new targets include almost doubling solar installations to 76GW from 39GW, while boosting wind power from 50GW to 62GW, while the first offshore wind goal of 3GW was reaffirmed.

Pushing forward with the first offshore wind tender may not be plain sailing, however.

Spain's powerful fishing industry will step up its opposition to the government's spatial plans for offshore wind, with the president of the national fishing industry federation (FNCP) Basilio Otero telling Spanish news agency EFE last week his member will use "all means at their disposal to defend their livelihood" and will seek a moratorium on the government's plans for offshore wind.