IberBlue Wind to develop floating project off Andalusia
IberBlue Wind, a joint
venture set up to develop floating offshore wind farms on the Iberian Peninsula,
has chosen the waters off Andalusia to develop the first of its offshore
wind projects.
The wind farm, named
Nao Victoria, will occupy an area of 310 km2 in the Alboran Sea (the westernmost
part of the Mediterranean Sea). It will be located off the coasts of Cadiz
and Malaga and will have 55 floating offshore wind turbines and an installed
capacity of 990 MW.
IberBlue Wind has already sent the Initial Project Document (IPD), which
includes its technical characteristics, to the Ministry for Ecological
Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). At the same time, it
has initiated contacts with regional and local institutions, as well as
with groups in the area, in order to gather all the contributions and provide
the project with maximum transparency and integration in the territory.
The Nao Victoria offshore wind farm will be located 25-40 km from the coast,
which is expected to reduce the impact of the installation, which will
be supported by floating platforms anchored to the seabed.
“Andalusia is an area with great potential for development of floating
offshore wind energy and with this wind project we want to contribute to
the region's positioning on the offshore wind sector", said Adrián
de Andrés, IberBlue Wind vice president.
IberBlue Wind's commitment to Andalusia will make a significant contribution
to boosting the region's economic model. This area, together with Galicia,
is one of the strategic development objectives of the joint venture.
The joint venture is made up of the Irish company Simply Blue Group, a
developer with extensive international experience in the blue economy,
specifically in floating offshore wind turbines, and the Spanish companies
Proes Consultores, the engineering division of the Amper Group, and FF
NEV, a leader in the development and promotion of renewable projects on
the peninsula.
Nao Victoria is named after the ship of the Magellan-Elcano expedition
that completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth in the 16th century
and is the first of the projects launched by IberBlue Wind which will present
itself at the public auctions, due to take place in the coming months.
In addition to Andalusia, IberBlue Wind is working on the development of
other projects in Galicia and Portugal, another strategic area for the
consortium. The joint venture also aspires to become a benchmark in the
Portuguese market, where it has placed the main focus on the North and
Central areas, due to their high wind resource.
