The energy transition is on its way to making its great leap into the sea in Spain. The Council of Ministers has approved the maritime spatial planning plans (POEM), which include, among other activities, the marine areas considered suitable for hosting wind farms. A total of 19 polygons, distributed along different Spanish coasts, are considered ideal places to host this activity: in addition, it is estimated that these locations can coexist with other activities, without causing an unaffordable environmental impact in principle.
The Government’s decision to give the green light to the offshore wind map is a decisive step to promote the takeoff of this electricity production technology, since it selects the areas considered optimal, with abundant wind resources and without having negative effects on the ecosystems according to the previous studies carried out. Thus, the main stumbling block for its development is cleared; However, the Government still needs to set the criteria (economic, social…) to award the exploitation of these reserved areas.
The maritime planning (POEM) includes Zones of Priority Use (ZUP), of guarantee for biodiversity, maritime security and defense of the State; and High Potential Zones (ZAP) where, among other activities, offshore wind energy can be developed.
In total, on the Spanish coasts, 5,000 square kilometers are reserved for the development of offshore wind, which represents 0.46% of the jurisdictional waters of the Spanish maritime space (which totals one million square kilometers).
19 wind farms spread over four demarcations have been planned, where it will be possible to develop this new form of renewable energy, fundamentally floating.
In the North Atlantic (Galicia and Asturias), this technology may be developed in areas totaling 2,688 km2.
Off the Andalusian coast, between Málaga and Almería, it occupies an area of ??1,222 km2; and in the Canary Islands (with locations in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura), 561.9 km2 and with a distance closer to the coast, barely 2 km.
In the area of ??the Gulf of Roses, a space of 250 km2 is reserved, at a distance that in its closest place to the coast is 12 kilometers, and at a depth of between 100 and 500 meters, while on the north coast of Menorca There are two wind farms with a total area of ??147 km2 and at a distance of 5 kilometers from the coast.
The Government has prepared a complete zoning of maritime spaces to plan the various activities, comply with its international commitments to protect 30% of marine waters and allocate between 1 and 3 GW to offshore wind. This planning guarantees that offshore wind has at least that potential, which is what is established in the National Energy and Climate Plan (Pniec).
It is a planning instrument that is renewed every six years, so it will be in force until December 31, 2027.
The definition of the Maritime Space Management Plans began in 2018 and, according to sources from the Ministry of Ecological Transition, “it has been an arduous and complicated process so that in its final version everyone feels somewhat dissatisfied because it has been impossible to reconcile interests of all parties involved.
Autonomous communities, town halls, business organizations, social groups have participated in the consultations in which the ministry claims to have taken all sensitivities into account.
The criterion that has dominated zoning has been that maritime activities do not affect biodiversity. “A second layer to delimit maps has been to maintain the safety of navigation and, thirdly, the demarcation of strategic areas for national defense. There is an increasing demand for both industrial, tourist, fishing, aquaculture and other activities; and for these to be developed over time, they must be compatible from the outset with environmental protection”, they explain from the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
“It is not possible to develop a sustained activity over time if there is not a solid base of environmental protection. The absolute priority is that ecosystems continue to maintain their capacity for renewal,” they add. Extractive mining activities on the seabed will not be allowed.
Throughout a period of more than three years of work, the selection of the best wind power sites has been refined after having assessed the opinions of all sectors and carrying out numerous consultations, including those who were also opposed to offshore wind power.
The final map has, however, meant a total cut of 38% of the area initially indicated as a candidate to house the wind farms, when compared to the proposal put forward in June 2021, when the public consultation began.
The reason is that some parks conflicted with sensitive areas, such as fishing grounds. In fact throughout this planning period there has been a lot of pressure from the fishing sectors.
In the Canary Islands, initially selected areas have been excluded due to the proximity of tourist areas (Maspalomas, in Gran Canarias, for example).
Another banned place is the area of ??Cabo de Gata, discarded due to its proximity to a reserve, while the planned areas off the coast of Cádiz “have fallen” for reasons of impact on fishing and tourism.
In Galicia, entire areas have not been eliminated, but certain areas have been cut, also to preserve fishing.
“From the sector, we believe that these cuts can be assumable, if the areas that have been maintained are allowed to develop properly, and they do not continue to put sticks in their wheels,” says Tomás Romagosa, technical director of the Wind Power Business Association.
The business association wanted to include other areas with abundant wind resources and, above all, in a shallower sea, since (in order to have more competitive projects) the ideal is for the wind farms to be located with seas at a depth of between 200 and 500 meters .
The requirement of this relative shallowness occurs on the Catalan coast facing the Gulf of Roses, in some areas of Galicia and off the Andalusian coast.
Then there are others also reserved for this purpose that would not have as many wind resources, located in Asturias or are deeper.
In the Canary Islands it is estimated that there are areas with good wind resources but their continental shelf is very short, while in Galicia some of the designated areas are relatively far from the coast.
“In general terms, a compromise solution has been reached; We believe that it is a sufficient proposal to begin the deployment of offshore wind power in 2030. The important thing is that the ball starts rolling and begins to demystify the problems”, adds Romagosa
“Everything has already been analyzed actively and passively. And a multitude of studies have been carried out by the different ministries; and criteria have been applied to cut out those most sensitive areas after the first drafts already excluded many areas with large wind resources. We understand that the processing must be fast and we believe that the administrations should not hesitate because they have already advanced a large part of the work with all this or ordering ”, he concludes.
Meanwhile, numerous companies have communicated their intention to promote these parks and have presented projects in the process of prior consultations. For now, they are considering the installation of 15 megawatt machines, but there are already manufacturers that have announced higher power models, and surely when these parks are built, in three or four years, there will already be 20M MW models. by.
They will be floating models, which means that there will be various technical solutions. Those that have reached a commercial stage are made of steel with catenary mooring systems, but many other mooring solutions or concrete or semi-submersible platforms are being developed. This is also a commercial and technological race to see what floating systems end up succeeding in the market.
This appeal is attended by both conventional electricity companies and new companies. There is everything. The Spanish offshore wind market has attracted a large number of foreign companies that have experience in offshore development in other countries. Typical companies from the world of oil and gas, which have oil and gas extraction platforms, and which are shifting their business towards renewables, are also interested, taking into account that the floating systems of oil platforms are similar conceptual to the float of the offshore wind.
Most of the large electricity companies are developing offshore wind power.
Very specialized investment groups show interest, and many business alliances are being developed.
The forecast is that the coasts can accommodate a power of between 1 and 3 gigawatts of power, with a capacity factor of 50%, which means operating about 4,500 hours a year.
The mills in the sea can work between 4,000 and 5,000 hours per year on average. It is much more than what they can work on land and almost three times more than photovoltaic. Offshore wind power offers a more stable and constant resource and that makes it much easier to integrate it into the electrical system.
Meanwhile, the promoters are now analyzing their areas and presenting projects as prior consultations in order for the Ministry to evaluate these proposals from the environmental point of view and obtain the information to know the conditions that, in any case, should have into account when you officially submit the application.
They must be submitted to the contest, and finally the one who makes the best offer will win. Everything indicates that the Government (and this will be a key criterion) will award the tender to the company that offers the sale of electricity at the cheapest price. But in the criteria that have yet to be defined, the beneficial social and economic effects generated by the project (employment…) can also be valued.
Environmental criteria or those referring to the recyclability of materials may also have an impact, considering a hypothetical dismantling of the park in 30 or 40 years, a criterion that has already been considered in France.
