Portugal to award over 1 GW in 1st offshore wind auction - report

May 31 (Renewables Now) - Portugal will offer more than 1 GW of capacity in its inaugural auction for offshore wind power planned to be held before the year is over, energy secretary Ana Fontoura said on Tuesday, as cited by Reuters.

Speaking at an energy summit in Lisbon, Fontoura has said that this offshore auction will be the first of many in the upcoming years. The secretary added that the winner in the bidding process would only be known next year.

The director-general of the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services, Jose Carlos Simao, was quoted by the local newspaper Jornal de Negocios that between 1.5 GW to 2 GW of offshore wind capacity should be auctioned by the last quarter of 2023.

Regarding the location of the projects, Fontoura said a report on the matter is to be delivered to the government by Wednesday and that the north coast of the Iberian country has the greatest potential for this type of power.

Overall, Portugal is targeting 10 GW of offshore wind installed capacity by 2030.