IberBlue Plans to Install 18 MW Floating Wind Turbines on Spanish-Portuguese Atlantic Ocean Border

Wind Farm Update

April 11, 2023, by Adrijana Buljan

IberBlue Wind has announced plans to build two floating wind farms on the North Atlantic border between Spain and Portugal. The projects, planned to be installed off the coasts of Baixo Miño in Pontevedra and Viana do Castelo, would have a total of 109 18 MW wind turbines and a combined capacity of up to 1.96 GW.

The wind farms, named Juan Sebastián Elcano and Creoula as a tribute to two historic training ships that are part of the Spanish and Portuguese Navy, are estimated to require an investment of more than EUR 4 billion for construction and maintenance and to generate more than 5,000 jobs.

Developing the two projects together is said to cost 32 per cent less than if they were to be developed separately.

“This will maximise synergies in resourcing and economies of scale during both the construction phase and operation phases. Consequently, reducing energy prices for both countries, which operate as one within the Iberian Electricity Market – MIBEL”, IberBlue states in a press release.

The Juan Sebastián Elcano floating wind farm will consist of 29 wind turbines that have a nominal capacity of 18 MW each. The 522 MW floating wind farm will extend from As Mariñas to A Guarda, over an area of 117 square kilometres, between 20 and 35 kilometres from the coast, reducing the project’s visual impact.

The project site is located within the delimitations recently established by the Spanish government under the Maritime Space Management Plans (POEM), among which is the North Atlantic demarcation, called NOR-1, IberBlue says.

The company also says the Juan Sebastián Elcano floating wind farm will support the local Galician industry which has the ability and experience to undertake this kind of project.

The Creoula floating wind farm, on the Portuguese side of the border, will have 80 turbines of 18 MW each and an installed capacity of 1,440 MW. The project is also located within the areas proposed by the Portuguese government for offshore wind farm development, at a distance of between 20 and 40 kilometres from shore.

Adrián de Andrés, Vice President of IberBlue Wind said: “It is very exciting to develop cross-border floating offshore wind projects and to collaborate with both Portuguese and Spanish governments on this positive opportunity for both countries. We have already engaged with both authorities when we presented our projects to the Spanish and Portuguese authorities, and we look forward to continued engagement”.

IberBlue Wind was launched in September 2022 by Ireland-based floating wind developer Simply Blue Group and Spanish companies Proes Consultores and FF New Energy Ventures. At the time, the joint venture, which is expected to bid in the upcoming auctions in Spain and Portugal, said it aimed to develop 2 GW of floating offshore wind capacity in Spain and Portugal.

Since then, IberBlue has already announced two floating offshore wind projects of 990 MW capacity each, one in Spain and one in Portugal.

In Spain, the joint venture is developing the Nao Victoria floating wind farm, planned to be built off the coasts of Cadiz and Malaga, in the Alboran Sea, the westernmost part of the Mediterranean Sea. The wind farm is planned to comprise 55 floating wind turbines, also with a nominal output of 18 MW per turbine.

Earlier this year, IberBlue announced its first floating wind project in Portugal, named Botafogo. This wind farm is also planned to have 55 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 18 MW.