Spanish company Greenalia, which is developing five floating offshore wind farms in the Canary Islands, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Maritime Cluster of the Canary Islands (CMC) to promote industrial development of offshore wind.
Under the MOU, the two parties will maintain a continuous exchange of information on the development of wind energy for the promotion of Canary Islands’ companies in the manufacturing, construction, and commissioning of offshore wind farms.
Greenalia and CMC have also committed to studying and designing an implementation strategy for the development of projects that will position the islands as a place of reference in terms of (floating) offshore wind energy.
Along with Greenalia and CMC’s officials, the signing ceremony was attended by representatives from Blue Lines Renewables, technology developer of Greenalia’s offshore wind projects and one of the Canarian companies the developer has partnered with to bring its floating offshore wind projects to realisation.
CMC president Vicente Marrero said that it was a priority at this time to prepare Canary Islands’ companies for the development of this emerging market, both in Europe and worldwide, which has an enormous growth expectations in the upcoming years.
Greenalia’s CEO Manuel García emphasised that the company’s projects would not only facilitate the deployment of the floating wind technology in areas with high wind resource such as the Canary Islands or Galicia, but will also be the key elements in reaching more energy independence in the archipelago and in meeting the renewable energy generation objectives.
The projects will also bring new job opportunities and positioning Spain as a leader in one of the fastest growing industries worldwide, according to García.
The Spanish offshore wind developer also provided a short update on its projects. The 50 MW Gofio Wind Farm has significantly progressed in the permitting process, and Greenalia’s four other projects – Dunas, Mojo, Cardón and Guanche – now have Environmental Impact Drafts and Studies in place.
Greenalia submitted project and environmental documentation for the Gofio floating wind farm last Summer and for the four new floating wind farms in September 2020.
All projects have a capacity of 50 MW each and are located in the Southeast area of the Gran Canaria Island.
Each wind farm will consist of four 12.5 MW turbines mounted on floating foundations, anchored to the seabed at water depths of between 61 and 92 metres.