The company will develop Juan Sebastián Elcano and Creoula floating offshore wind projects, named after two legacy training ships under the Spanish and Portuguese Navy, off the coasts of Pontevedra and Viana do Castelo
Juan Sebastián Elcano and Creoula floating offshore wind projects. (Credit: Simply Blue Group)
IberBlue Wind, a joint venture focused on floating offshore wind farms in the Iberian Peninsula, has unveiled its plans to develop two floating offshore wind projects on the North Atlantic coast.
The two offshore wind facilities, dubbed Juan Sebastián Elcano and Creoula, will be constructed on the Spain-Portugal border with a combined capacity of up to 1.96GW.
IberBlue said that the names Juan Sebastián Elcano and Creoula were selected in commemoration of two legacy training ships under the Spanish and Portuguese Navy.
The project will cover an area of 530km2 off the coasts of Baixo Miño in Pontevedra and Viana do Castelo and feature about 109 offshore wind turbines.
The construction and maintenance of the wind projects would require more than €4bn investment, will generate over 5,000 jobs, and bring important benefits for both countries.
Once operational, the two projects are anticipated to supply adequate green electricity to more than one million households.
IberBlue Wind vice president Adrián de Andrés said: “It is very exciting to develop cross-border floating offshore wind projects and to collaborate with both Portuguese and Spanish governments on this positive opportunity for both countries.
“We have already engaged with both authorities when we presented our projects to the Spanish and Portuguese authorities, and we look forward to continued engagement.”
IberBlue said that developing the wind farms combinedly could reduce the estimated cost by 32% than to be developed separately, maximising synergies during construction and operation.
With a nominal capacity of 522MW, the Juan Sebastián Elcano project would cover an area of 117km2 and feature 29 wind turbines with 18MW each.
The wind turbines will be installed on floating platforms anchored to the seabed, which is 20km to 35km from the coast and extends from As Mariñas to A Guarda.
IberBlue said that the project location lies is within the delimitations recently established by the Spanish Government under their Maritime Space Management Plans (POEM).
With an installed capacity of 1,440MW, the Creoula project will cover an area of 413km2, 20km to 40km from the shore, and feature 80 turbines with 18MW capacity each.
The project will also be developed within the areas proposed by the Portuguese Government, and will contribute 10GW of offshore wind by 2030, said the joint venture company.
IberBlue said that the construction and operation of the projects require ongoing collaboration between developers and stakeholders, including civil society, and coastal communities.
The company has already established relationships with port authorities, regional and local administrations, and representative bodies in the two areas.