Portugal has invited enterprises to submit non-binding expressions of interest by November 14 to begin the process of preparing for its first auction of licences to construct wind farms off the coast of the Atlantic. Any interested parties that formally express their interest will be invited to participate in a conversation phase to look at the possibilities regarding pre-qualification and bidding methods.
In the first round, companies must provide information on the marine areas they are targeting, their financing plan, and their experience in developing wind energy projects on land and at sea. In three locations off the nation's Atlantic coast, the government has set the capacity up for auction to begin by year's end at 2 GW.
Compared to those moored to the seabed close to the coast or those on land, floating wind farms will be erected in deep oceans where winds are stronger and more consistent, enabling more power generation. Off the Atlantic coast, Portugal already has a tiny 25 MW floating wind farm owned by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between the French corporation Engie and Portugal's primary utility, EDP.
Other utilities, such as Germany's BayWa, the Irish-Spanish cooperation IberBlue Wind, investment manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and a joint venture between Galp of Portugal and TotalEnergies of France, have already expressed interest in bidding. Up until 2030, Portugal intends to hold a series of auctions for a total of 10 GW.