Spain: ZÈFIR Floating Med Wind Plant Project Passes EIB Assessment

The ZÈFIR Floating Med Wind Plant is part of the second phase of the ZÈFIR Test Station, during which five floating wind turbines will be installed 30 kilometres off the coast of Tarragona on water 110 metres deep.

NER 300 funds innovative experimental projects in the field of renewable energy technology. The ZÈFIR project is seeking 30 million euros in funding, which should be sufficient to cover this second phase.

The ZÈFIR Floating Med Wind Plant project, run by the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), in collaboration with ACCIONA Windpower, ALSTOM and GAMESA, has passed the assessment by the European Investment Bank (EIB), in the framework of the call for proposals of the European programme NER 300. The programme finances innovative experimental projects for harnessing renewable energies and will provide significant funding to the projects selected, in line with the targets set by the European Commission.

The ZÈFIR Floating Med Wind Plant will involve developing and testing the technology required for the installation of five wind turbines with different floating substructures 30 kilometres off the coast of Tarragona on water 110 metres deep. The project forms part of the second phase of the ZÈFIR Test Station, during which it has been planned to build a total of eight offshore wind turbines on Tarragona’s coastline.

The proposal was selected one year ago by Spain’s State Department for Climate Change, of the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, to represent the country in the call for proposals in the framework of the European Commission’s NER 300 programme. This initiative was awarded the top number of points in the category of innovative experimental projects for harnessing renewable energies.

The project has therefore has gone on into the final phase of the call for proposals in which the European Commission will have to decide which projects will receive funding, following deliberations with member states. The ZÈFIR Floating Med Wind Plant is seeking 30 million euros in funding, which should be sufficient to cover the second phase of the ZÈFIR Test Station. It is expected that a decision will be made by the end of 2012.

The assessment criteria of the proposals include unit costs in terms of performance, the potential reduction in green house gases, coherence with national energy policies, economic and social impact and benefits, and compatibility with the SET Plan. The director general of the IREC, Antoni Martínez, believes that this is extremely good news, as “it is a very significant milestone that confirms the degree of excellence reached in the development of offshore wind turbines and places us among the leading international research centres. The development of test stations makes a huge contribution to advancing the offshore wind industry”.

Given the characteristics of the continental shelf in the Mediterranean, the expansion of offshore wind energy must take place in deep waters with new technological solutions. The ZÈFIR Floating Med Wind Plant aims to demonstrate the viability of this type of floating structure. Its priority goals are to set new boundaries in our understanding of the technology involved, whilst attracting Spanish businesses to the market and facilitating the setting up of training programmes.

For ACCIONA, “this is a highly significant project, as it will enable us to make essential progress in the scaling of offshore wind energy so that reliable and efficient commercial solutions can be found”, said Raúl Manzanas, the company’s director of innovation in onshore and offshore wind energy. He added that “this will also give the county a much needed boost in putting it at the forefront of the development of the technology behind offshore wind turbines”.

At ALSTOM, “we are patting ourselves on the back at the thought that this innovative technology in the field of renewable energy developed in the country has been givenpositive feedback by the EU’s decision-making organisations, which confirms the project’s potential and its leading position”.

GAMESA believes that “this new step forward for the ZÈFIR project will enable the country to have experimental offshore platforms that enable our industries to create offshore wind energy at competitive prices by the second half of this decade”, said Antonio de la Torre, the company’s director of Product Development.

[mappress]

Offshore WIND  Staff, March 19, 2012; Image:  irec