The German renewable energy company BayWa r.e. has submitted a permit application to secure seabed rights for a 600 MW floating offshore wind project in Portugal. The project, which will be subsidy-free, will be comprised of 30 turbines and located in a dedicated zone off the coastline of Viana do Castelo, in northern Portugal.
The project is compatible with the recently announced offshore wind tenders to be run in the future and can serve as a blueprint for the bidding projects. BayWa r.e. intends to support the creation of a global floating offshore wind supply chain in Portugal using existing local infrastructure, that the tender projects will be able to use.
In September 2022, Portugal raised the target for its first offshore wind auction due to take place in 2023 to 10 GW in a bid to move faster on the country’s energy transition. The wind projects could be commissioned by 2026.
At the end of 2021, Portugal only had 25 MW of offshore wind capacity. Portugal's installed capacity (21.4 GW at end-2021) is dominated by hydro (33%), followed by wind (26%), gas (23%) and solar (8%). Portugal's NECP 2030 (2021-2030) sets a target of 47% of RES contribution in final energy consumption (from around 30% in 2020). The country, which phased out coal-fired generation in 2021, currently generates around 60% of its electricity from renewables (hydropower, wind and solar) and expects to reach 80% before 2030.
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