- Title: Floating dreams: Portugal bets on pricey offshore wind, solar farms
- Date: 27th September 2021
- Summary: AT SEA (SEPTEMBER 23, 2021) (REUTERS) BOAT APPROACHING WIND TURBINE FARM AT SEA VARIOUS OF WIND TURBINE WIND TURBINE SEEN FROM MOVING BOAT VIANA DO CASTELO, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 23, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROJECT DIRECTOR AT WIND FLOAT ATLANTIC, JOSE PINHEIRO, SAYING: "At the moment it is one of the largest offshore floating wind farms of the world. The project is 25 megawatts. Each unit is 8.4 megawatts that's one of the largest wind turbines available in the market." AT SEA (SEPTEMBER 23, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FLOATING WINDMILLS VIANA DO CASTELO, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 23, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROJECT DIRECTOR AT WIND FLOAT ATLANTIC, JOSE PINHEIRO, SAYING: "The cost of the project I cannot disclose I'm not allowed to... but what I can tell you is that this is an innovative technology. It is making its way through the path to level the cost of energy, being more attractive and more competitive." AT SEA (SEPTEMBER 23, 2021) (REUTERS) FLOATING WINDMILLS VIANA DO CASTELO, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 23, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROJECT DIRECTOR AT WIND FLOAT ATLANTIC, JOSE PINHEIRO, SAYING: "There are few different designs in the offshore floating technology. Eventually, they will mature enough to be more cost-effective and that will bring large-scale offshore wind farms floating to our horizon." VILA PRAIA DE ANCORA, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 23, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FISHERMAN VASCO PRESA AT PORT / WALKING TO HIS BOAT / BOARDING HIS BOAT (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) FISHERMAN, VASCO PRESA, SAYING: "Not many of us have authorisation to enter neighbouring country waters so we are very limited. We are limited to the south by the windmills and to the north by the border (with Spain). Of course, this affects us and will affect us in the future." VASCO PREPARING HIS BOAT MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 22, 2021) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF SOLAR PANELS FLOATING AT ALTO DO RABAGAO DAM MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 22, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SOLAR PANELS FLOATING AT ALTO DO RABAGAO DAM (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) NUNO GUEDES, PROJECT DIRECTOR AT UTILITY EDP, SAYING: "We are here to take advantage of an energy source: the sun, which is complementing water. During the sunnier times, we have less water so we are complementing these sources with one another, which will help the path towards sustainability and to have a decarbonised society." SOLAR PANELS FLOATING AT ALTO DO RABAGAO DAM MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 22, 2021) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF SOLAR PANELS FLOATING AT ALTO DO RABAGAO DAM MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 22, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SOLAR PANELS FLOATING AT ALTO DO RABAGAO DAM MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 22, 2021) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF SOLAR PANELS FLOATING AT ALTO DO RABAGAO DAM MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 22, 2021) (REUTERS) SOLAR PANELS FLOATING AT ALTO DO RABAGAO DAM MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 22, 2021) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF SOLAR PANELS FLOATING AT ALTO DO RABAGAO DAM
- Embargoed: 11th October 2021 13:04
- Keywords: climate change energy renewables sea solar wind windmills
- Location: VIANA DO CASTELO, VILA PRAIA DE ANCORA & MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL & AT SEA
- City: VIANA DO CASTELO, VILA PRAIA DE ANCORA & MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL & AT SEA
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Environment,Europe,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001EWHXSNB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: From a colossal wind farm floating amid choppy ocean waves to hundreds of solar panels on the surface of a dammed reservoir, Portugal is exploring ways to innovate renewable energy.
Mass use of such projects may still be too pricey, but trailblazers like Portugal stand to benefit when costs ease.
Bathed in sunshine all year round and washed by the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal is seen by many as the perfect spot to capture energy from a cocktail of natural resources: sun, wind, and water.
Solar parks and wind turbines became part of Portugal's landscape years ago but although around 70% of the electricity generated comes from renewables, the country still relies on imported fossil fuels for some of its power generation.
As Europe braces for an energy crisis due to global gas shortages, with power prices surging as winter approaches, Portugal, where nearly 20% of the population struggles to keep homes warm, is not giving up on its "go green" dream and floating solutions could play a part.
Around 18 km (11 miles) off the coast of the northern port city of Viana do Castelo, three behemoth offshore wind turbines, mounted on equally gigantic yellow floating structures, are anchored with chains to the bottom of the Atlantic.
"It is one of the largest offshore floating wind farms in the world," said Jose Pinheiro, project director of WindFloat Atlantic, a consortium which includes France's Engie, Portugal's EDP Renovaveis, Repsol, and Principle Power.
Pinheiro sees it as a game-changer, not only for Portugal but for the world.
Installing turbines in the deep sea, where winds blow much stronger, allows to harness more energy than the conventional structures onshore.
Eventually, it will make electricity cheaper and the country less dependent on fossil fuels, Pinheiro said at the port from where maintenance crews often travel to the wind towers.
But challenges persist, and money is one of them. Pinheiro did not disclose how much the project cost but building offshore is always expensive.
A study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy said wind energy costs - offshore and onshore - could decline by up to 49% by 2050.
"It (the floating technology) will mature enough to become more cost-effective and that will bring large-scale offshore floating wind farms to our horizon," Pinheiro said.
Offshore wind farms also face opposition from fishing communities as they are not allowed to fish around the platforms or near the underwater cable that connects them to land.
"We are limited to the south by the windmills and to the north by the border" with Spain, veteran fisherman Vasco Presa said as a glimpse of the windmills appeared behind him in a tiny fishing village near Viana do Castelo. "Of course this affects us."
A two-hour drive from Viana do Castelo, more floating solutions are being put to test.
Portugal's largest utility EDP installed in 2017 a floating photovoltaic solar power plant - a total of 840 solar panels - on the waters of the Alto Rabagao dam. It is now building a bigger similar park on the Alqueva dam in the south.
Overlooking the panels from inside a boat, local EDP director Nuno Guedes explained that placing floating solar platforms on dams had huge benefits as they complement hydroelectric generation, reusing existing facilities, and avoiding the use of more land.
"When there's more sun we have less water so both resources complement each other," he said. "This will help us on our path towards sustainability and a decarbonised society."
(Production: Miguel Pereira, Catarina Demony) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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