Corio Generation is partnering with Portugal’s Hyperion Renewables to explore opportunities to build offshore wind projects off the coast of the country.
The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together in preparing applications for offshore wind tenders expected later in 2023.
The partnership will combine Corio’s market leading expertise in auction preparation and site selection with Hyperion’s experience in stakeholder engagement and knowledge of the regulatory landscape.
The MoU has been forged at a time when the Portuguese government is seeking to turn the country into a major market for offshore wind investment.
In January 2023, Lisbon announced a target to award 10GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, with the majority expected to be floating sites.
Corio Generation, a portfolio company of Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group, has a 30GW portfolio of projects in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.
Corio’s floating wind portfolio includes the 1.5GW Gray Whale site in South Korea.
In addition, the business is developing multiple floating projects in Europe in France, the UK and Norway.
Hyperion Renewables has developed 640MW of developments across Iberia since the company was first established in 2006, and has a 3.4GW pipeline across solar, wind, green hydrogen and storage technologies, including 180MW of solar PV sites under construction.
It has developed projects under various financial frameworks and, in 2017, closed the first pool power purchase agreement in Iberia for a solar PV power plant.
Head of new markets and Americas at Corio Generation Guillermo Martínez-Navas said: “To help unlock Portugal’s offshore wind potential, we knew we needed to find a partner like Hyperion Renewables.
“We’re delighted to be working with an outstanding team that has a proven track record of developing solar power in Portugal and Spain, two of Europe’s leading markets for onshore renewables.
“As an early-stage market for offshore wind, it was essential to join forces with a Portuguese partner who intimately knows the local market and its regulatory landscape, and the team at Hyperion fits this description perfectly.”