Wind Energy – Gran Canaria
Spanish utility Naturgy Energy Group said on Tuesday that it is working with Norway’s Equinor on a 200-MW-plus floating wind project (FOWCA) off the coast of the island of Gran Canaria.
The two energy companies have an agreement to work together in the analysis and search for opportunities for offshore wind power in Spain, whose first auction will foreseeably be in the waters of the Islands.
The FOWCA project, which would be connected to the Barranco de Tirajana substation of Red Eléctrica Española, will be developed with semi-submersible floating platform technology that, among other advantages, allows the installation of structures farthest from the coast.
This offshore wind farm would reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to 350,000 cars per year. According to the study commissioned from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, it is estimated that the project could generate more than 2,500 jobs in all its phases, including direct, indirect and induced jobs.
The objective of Naturgy and Equinor is to take into account all social, environmental and economic sensitivities. The two companies consider that the coexistence, compatibility and cooperation of marine renewable energies with biodiversity and with other marine sectors is essential to implement a project of these dimensions.
