The Portuguese Government has announced plans to decide on zones suitable for offshore wind development off its coast.
It intends to hold a public hearing on proposals for zones in preparation for an auction later this year, Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, announced during a state visit to Cape Verde.
Costa’s announcement follows the government confirming that it intends to launch its first offshore wind auction in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Costa said: “We maintain our strong commitment to renewable energies. In the last quarter of this year, we will launch the first international offshore wind energy auction.”
Portugal had initially planned to hold its first auction in the summer of 2022, to 3-4GW of capacity.
In mid-2022, the government announced the auction would be postponed to be held in 2023 with increased capacity to 6-8GW.