Government has doubts over viability of offshore wind farms

Portugal’s government has requested the setting up of a working group to estimate the costs and tariff rates of installing 2GW of eolic wind turbines off the coast of Portugal by 2030, claiming that without costings it can’t move ahead with the project.

According to Jornal de Negócios yesterday, the new Secretary of State for Energy, Maria João Pereira says that the dossier for the first auction for rights to exploit the first offshore wind energy floating turbines – a pet project from the last government – is incomplete – in terms of costings.

The report that has already been delivered by a steering group, last year, details the areas of the Portuguese coast most suitable for the installation of the wind turbine projects, as well as the capacity (in megawatts) that each area must house.

However, the report doesn’t mention the costs and tariff impacts. The official asked the working group – which includes representatives of ERSE, DGEG, APREN, REN, DGRM, among other relevant entities – to do the maths, and is still waiting for the result so that it can dispel the doubts that still remain about the economic viability of generating energy from offshore wind. According to PNEC 2030, Portugal wants to have 2 GW of offshore wind in operation by that date, goals that then have to be sent to Brussels for approval.