The Spanish government has been urged to invest more money in offshore wind infrastructure or risk losing more ground to close neighbour Portugal.
Speaking at the Seanergy conference in Paris, Ángel Fernández Rodríguez, business development manager at Navantia Seanergies, said it has spent $100 million in the last three- or four-years boosting capacity in the Spanish offshore wind supply chain.
“Spain needs to invest in technology and improve facilities,” he said. “We have done our own investment, but the government could support a little more.”
Rodriguez, who was taking part in a debate on floating offshore wind in Southern Europe, said that Portugal was moving faster than Spain.
He cited the 25MW WindFloat Atlantic project, developers collaborating with Portuguese ports and the 2GW offshore wind auction which is set to take place by the end of this year.
Spain’s first ever offshore wind auction is now likely to take place in 2026 given delays to the process. Investors are increasingly nervous about the timing and the lack of information from the Spanish government.
Rodriguez added that the company was also working on tenders in other parts of the world including South Korea, Australia, the UK and France.
Roberto Longo, chief operating officer at engineering and consulting company Aventa, said Italy – another nation waiting for news on a promised offshore wind auction – said the country was a favoured option for floating in Southern Europe.
“Italy is in a very strategic position. It is in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, has a lot of experience in oil and gas, engineering capabilities, cable manufacturers, shipyards and harbours,” he said.
“There are things that can be improved, such as the regulations which can be difficult to navigate. We would also like more flexibility with regards to the 5-year period between the award of a CFD and first production. We would like that timeline to be extended.”