Iberdrola will promote floating offshore wind energy in Spain. If successful, this will be the first project of its kind on an industrial scale in Spain. The investment will exceed 1,000 million for the commissioning of 300 megawatts (MW) on the Spanish coast with turbines not anchored to the seabed. The forecast is that it will be operational in 2026, it would generate more than 2,800 jobs per year and would involve 66 technology centers and Spanish companies.
Iberdrola considers that the project represents an opportunity to develop the value chain in the country and position the Spanish industry as an international benchmark. In addition, the energy company believes that this would be only the beginning, since it has identified the possibility of developing up to 2,000 MW of floating offshore wind power in the country (on the Galician, Andalusian or Canary coast).
With these initial 300 MW, according to the firm, in the pre-construction phase (2021-2022) between 1,000 and 2,000 employees would be generated. An activity that would involve nine autonomous communities and contribute to the fight against climate change by avoiding the emission into the atmosphere of 202,500 tons of CO₂ per year.
The energy company has submitted 150 initiatives to the EU recovery funds, among which is this project. If they all go ahead, Iberdola would mobilize 21,000 million in investments that would generate 45,000 jobs per year, an economic growth of more than 1.5% of GDP and would improve Spain’s competitiveness. In addition, the group points out, it would help prevent the depopulation of rural areas, since part of the investment (7,000 million) would go to these areas.
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The company already has experience in this type of project and has collaborated with Spanish suppliers such as Navantia, Windar, Ingeteam or Haizea Wind for the construction of critical components for their offshore wind farms. All this activity has fostered a business base that has led Spain to be the fifth country in the world by number of factories in the supply chain of the offshore wind sector.
Iberdrola, for its part, also stands out as an international benchmark in this market, since it has one of the largest offshore wind portfolios in the world with more than 30 gigawatts (GW).