Portugal Zooms In on Three Offshore Wind Areas with 3.5 GW Capacity for Upcoming Auction

July 14, 2023, by Adrijana Buljan

An inter-ministerial working group on offshore wind set up by the Portuguese government as part of the process of organising the country’s first offshore wind tender has narrowed down the initially identified areas to three that would be offered for development later this year.

As reported at the beginning of this year, the working group first delineated several areas for commercial projects that would accommodate 10 GW of offshore wind capacity, in line with the plan announced last year.

The areas that were pinpointed are located in waters off Viana do Castelo (expanding the already existing area), Leixões, Figueira da Foz, Ericeira and Sintra-Cascais, and Sines.

In an update to the Final Report on offshore wind areas, the inter-ministerial working group has proposed putting the areas out to tender in phases, with three areas totalling 3.5 GW to be offered this year, through one or more competitive procedures, and for the remaining capacity to be allocated in subsequent phases until 2030, reaching 10 GW.

The three areas that would be awarded in this first phase are located in Viana do Castelo (1 GW), Leixões (500 MW) and Figueira da Foz (2 GW).

Source: Final Report; *Working Group for the planning and operationalisation of electroproduction centers based on energy sources renewables of oceanic origin or location*

The working group has studied the costs of establishment, operation, losses and decommissioning of offshore wind farms and the related infrastructure, as well as reliability aspects of the expected performance of the network, environmental impacts and impacts on other activities at sea and on land.

A preliminary study of the locations of the interconnection points with the onshore grid was also performed.

Furthermore, the development needs of port infrastructures were also identified, signalling the urgency of each port’s specialisation in supporting the construction and maintenance of future wind farms at sea.

According to the government’s working group on offshore wind, Portugal’s supply chain capabilities are also being looked into, with a preliminary analysis of the national and international supply chain landscape having been initiated.

The working group will now continue the technical work until the end of September of this year to further define the areas for the production of offshore wind energy, as well as the tender models to be used and the development needs of the electrical and port infrastructures.

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The updated version of the preliminary proposal for the offshore wind areas takes into account the work of the commission working on the country’s Plan for the Allocation of Maritime Areas for Exploitation of Renewable Energy (PAER) and incorporates the contributions received in the public hearing on the proposal published in January, as well as in meetings held with the fisheries sector.

The PAER, prepared by the Directorate General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM) is being developed in close reference to the ongoing strategic environmental assessment, and is expected that it will be approved in the last quarter of 2023.