Portugal is increasingly relying on offshore wind to meet its energy transition goals.  The Laboratorio Nacional de Energia e Geologia (LNEG) Working Group proposed Government to move forward with a first phase in which capacity of up to 3.5 GW will be made available in Viana do Castelo, Leixões and Figueira da Foz, subject to one or more competitive procedures. The remaining capacity should be allocated in subsequent phases, up to 2030, for a total of 10 GW.

Until September, the Working Group will further elaborate on the competitive procedure models to be carried out, in dialogue with potential stakeholders. Then, the underlying principles will be disclosed and the period for non-binding expression of interest will be opened. The first competitive procedure will be opened until the end of 2023, starting with a pre-qualification phase, lasting no less than three months.

The Working Group presented an updated version of the preliminary proposal of spatialized areas, which takes into account the work of the Consultative Commission of the Plan for the Allocation of Maritime Areas for the Use of Renewable Energies (PAER).

Alternative architectures of the offshore Public Utility Power Grid (RESP) were studied, considering the costs of its establishment, operation, losses and decommissioning, as well as reliability aspects of the expected performance of the grid, environmental impacts and impacts on other activities present in the grid.

The locations of the new facilities where the interconnection points with the terrestrial network will be established were also preliminarily studied. The development needs of port infrastructures were identified, pointing out the urgency of the specialization of each port to support the construction and maintenance of future wind farms.

The importance of developing a strategy for the establishment of industrial linkages in this sector was also highlighted, and a preliminary analysis of the national and international outlook was initiated.

The Working Group will continue the technical work until the end of September, articulating the definition of spatialized areas for offshore wind energy production, the definition of the procedural models to be used and the needs for the development of electrical and port infrastructures.