In the coming days, Portugal is preparing to launch a call for ‘demonstrations of interest’ for parties wanting to build offshore wind farms off its Atlantic coast.
In this first auction round, the Portuguese government has announced intentions to proceed with developing offshore wind power in the regions of Viana do Castelo, Leixões, and Figueira da Foz, reaching up to 3.5 GW of total capacity. This corresponds to the first step in Portugal’s ambitious target to reach 10GW of installed capacity through a total investment of 30-40 billion euros ($33-44 billion) by 2030.
It comes as Portugal’s leading centre of excellence – WavEC Offshore Renewables – prepares to stage an international seminar in collaboration with the Netherlands Embassy in Lisbon, attracting global leaders from across the offshore wind sector.
In collaboration with this year’s guest country – the Netherlands – which already has 4.5GW of offshore wind capacity installed and a target of 21GW by 2030, both nations share an ambitious offshore renewables agenda. As Margriet Leemhuis the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Lisbon states: “Portugal and the Netherlands are connected by the seas. We both have a maritime tradition. And we both are working on the blue economy and building wind parks off the coast. It is a great pleasure and honour to exchange knowledge and lessons learned.’’
The event titled ‘Paving the Way for Large Scale Offshore Wind Deployment’ will be staged at the Museu do Oriente (Oriente Museum), Lisbon, on December 06.
WavEC CEO Marco Alves said the event comes at a pivotal time as Portugal prepares for a new era in offshore wind. “We are thrilled to be hosting our annual seminar at such an exciting moment, aligned with the open call for demonstrations of interest and the pre-qualification phase. The Portuguese government is currently defining its strategic approach to the structure of ownership and responsibility for the installation of the electricity transmission infrastructure and the regulatory framework. In parallel, entities including WavEC are actively supporting interested parties who seek to enhance understanding of the auction process, by offering expertise in legal, environmental, economic, and technical aspects.”
“For this purpose, our upcoming seminar will feature expert panellists sharing their insights on the Portuguese opportunity and broader industry outlook. Dedicated sessions will dive into mitigating and overcoming supply chain challenges, namely the need for developing suitable port infrastructure to accommodate the large-scale expansion of renewable energy and hydrogen production, as well as the role of offshore multi-use solutions. We are keen for any interested parties to reach out and register now to avoid missing out.”
Speakers will include Portuguese Government members, the Netherlands Directorate General for Climate and Energy Michel Heijdra, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Portugal Margriet Nieske Leemhuis and Henk van Elburg, from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). It will also include BayWa r.e. AG, Madoqua Ventures, ACCIONA energia, IberBlue Wind, ING Bank, Miranda Law firms, REN and WAM, among other top speakers.
The event will conclude with a special anniversary ceremony as WavEC Offshore Renewables celebrates its 20th anniversary, with a tribute to its founder Professor Antonio Sarmento.
WavEC is a world-renowned Centre of Excellence focusing on the development of marine renewable energy through R&D, knowledge transfer and innovation. The non-profit organisation heavily supports the EU’s Horizon Europe Programme and has delivered more than 70 R&D projects in the marine renewables sector and corresponding support technologies. It has collaborated with more than 350 partners in 32 countries. A co-founder of the OceanACT consortium, WavEC also co-manages the Aguçadoura test site in north Portugal, promoting offshore testing infrastructures to support blue economy technologies.
PIC CREDIT: Delmar Systems
