Offshore wind industry could potentially create 10,000 jobs in the Spanish region of Galicia in the coming years, Enrique Mallon, the Secretary General of the association of metal workers of Galicia (ASIME), said during Galician Offshore International HUB 2016 forum held in Ferrol on 12 and 13 May.
“If we do things right, both the administration and entrepreneurs, we can create more than 10,000 jobs in Galicia. We must start bringing back workers who switched industrial sectors or left the country, and provide them with the necessary training,” Mallon said.
The offshore wind could be the niche market of the future for the region’s shipyards and metal industry and potentially bring up to EUR 1.5 billion in new contracts, according to Mallon.
Galicia’s proximity to the North Sea region could also make the region competitive in the offshore wind arena, Mallon said.
The forum was organized by Asime, Iberdrola, Navantia, Windar Renewable and Xunta de Galicia with the intention of promoting the development potential of the wind energy market and trade relations that could lead to new contracts.
One of the reasons why the forum was held in Ferrol is the proximity of Navantia shipyard in Fene, which was contracted to build 29 jacket foundations for Iberdrola’s Wikinger offshore wind farm in Germany, as well as five floating foundations for Statoil’s Hywind Scotland Floating Windpark project.
Victor Rey Romero, the director of offshore operations at Iberdrola, said that the company plans to increase its offshore wind capacity by 24% by 2020, representing a EUR 4 billion investment.
Offshore WIND Staff