New 990MW project to exploit Andalusia’s offshore wind potential
Kelvin Ross
Posted on: 16 May 2023
Offshore windfarm will comprise up to 55 turbines.
Offshore windfarm will comprise up to 55 turbines
An offshore wind project with a capacity of 990MW is to be built off the southern Spanish coast of Andalusia.
Called La Pinta in tribute to one of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus on his first trip to America, it will be located off the coasts of Granada and Almeria and will cover an area of around 316 km2.
It will comprise up to 55 turbines of 18MW each and be located between 15 and 35 km from the coast. When operational, it will have the capacity to supply energy to over 670,000 homes.
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It is being developed by IberBlue Wind, a joint venture between Simply Blue Group, Proes Consultores and FF New Energy Ventures.
IberBlue has submitted the initial project document, which includes its technical characteristics, to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
The Spanish government has a goal to develop between 1-3GW of installed offshore wind energy by 2030.
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Julio Vera, Stakeholder Engagement & Policy Director of IberBlue Wind, said Andalusia is “a key area for offshore wind development in Spain”.
“It has a great wind resource, good infrastructure, and potential capacity to become a benchmark for this kind of project.
“The coasts of Granada and Almeria have favourable conditions for offshore wind farms, although it will be necessary to reinforce the electricity network in the surrounding area to take all the energy generated”.
IberBlue said the investment for the construction and maintenance of the windfarm will exceed €2.5 million and generate over 3300 jobs.
La Pinta is the second offshore wind farm IberBlue Wind is developing in Andalusia. Last November, the joint venture announced its Nao Victoria project in the Alboran Sea, off the coasts of Malaga and Cadiz. It will also have an installed capacity of around 990MW.
Three other projects already proposed are Botafogo, the first offshore wind farm in Portugal off the coast of Figueira da Foz and, more recently, the first cross-border offshore wind projects, off Spain and Portugal, called Juan Sebastián Elcano and Creoula. IberBlue says they have a combined installed capacity of some 1.96GW.
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