Endesa, Spain's largest utility, and Enerfin, a subsidiary of the Elecnor Group, have sealed a deal to promote offshore windparks off the Spanish coasts. They will do it through a joint venture called Consorcio Eólico Marino Cabo de Trafalgar, which will focus its activities primarily on the South of the Iberian Peninsula.
At the moment, there are around 700 offshore megawatts installed worldwide, out of which 400 MW or so are in Denmark, 250 MW in the UK and the rest split among Sweden, Holland and Ireland, according to Endesa. A very sophisticated technology, often borrowed from the oil industry, is normally used for these developments. This will be the case for this new project as well.
Spain's offshore wind potential has been estimated at 3,000 MW, which represents around one fourth of the current on-land capacity. The South and East of the Iberian Peninsula are the most convenient areas, due to the shallow waters; consequently, the foundation cost is lower in these cases, which makes them attractive for investors.
In this sense, the new venture will focus -at least in its first phase until the Government regulates this business area- on the South of the Iberian Peninsula.
"With this, Endesa and Enerfin consolidate their bid for wind power, covering a new area in its development, which is currently limited to on-land projects. It will also represent a new push for wind power in our country", said Endesa in a press release.
Endesa's Spanish wind projects today total 1,400 MW, which represents market share of just above 13%, according to the utility.
Likewise, Enerfin, which is owned at 70% by Elecnor and 30% by Banco Gallego and Caixa Nova, is primarily dedicated to the development of electricity production projects and is currently involved in windparks totalling 450 MW. Last December, the company opened -through Ventos do Sul, a subsidiary- its biggest windpark in Latin America, a 150 MW windpark in Brazil.
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