The alliance of the Irish company Simply Blue Group with the Spanish companies Proes Consultores and FF New Energy Ventures is already under way. The IberBlue Wind joint venture represents the commitment of these three companies to develop floating offshore wind energy in Spain and Portugal. The goal is to boost Iberian leadership in this segment, which is still in its infancy.

IberBlue Wind aspires to become a benchmark for offshore projects on the Iberian Peninsula. In order to do this, it relies on the combined experience of its three partners, covering all phases of development for these types of facilities. Simply Blue Group's background includes the development and management of over ten gigawatts of offshore wind farms in the UK, Ireland, Scotland, the USA and Sweden.

Maritime and coastal engineering
Proes Consultores, specialising in engineering and architecture, has extensive experience in maritime and coastal engineering. Of particular note is its involvement in the design of the Kincardine offshore wind farm off the Scottish coast. FF New Energy Ventures' background includes a strong focus on developing, constructing and operating solar photovoltaic plants, and it is currently implementing onshore wind and BESS (massive battery energy storage systems) projects in Spain and Portugal.

Floating wind turbines take advantage of wind strength, which is higher at sea and produce clean, renewable electricity more efficiently. IberBlue Wind's strategy will start with taking part in public auctions for offshore areas to develop floating wind energy in Spain and Portugal. It plans to reach two gigawatts through wind farms generating over 500 megawatts. It will also design, develop and commission these.

Excellent wind resources
To ensure success, IberBlue Wind will start operations in Andalusia and Galicia, because of their potential in this segment. It will also explore the Portuguese market. The company's Vice President, Adrián de Andrés, highlighted "the potential of Spain and Portugal to become world leaders in offshore wind generation, as both countries have excellent wind resources, a long track record in coastal engineering and first-class public works".

De Andrés argues that the Spanish government should be more ambitious in offshore wind farm tenders, which could in his opinion exceed ten gigawatts of capacity, well above the one to three gigawatts proposed in the roadmap for developing offshore wind and marine energy for 2030. The Maritime Space Management Plan has in particular set aside 0.8% of the available maritime space on its 8,000 kilometres of coastline, compared to 2.5% in Scotland.

^{Photo: IberBlue Wind}