Qair eyes 1 GW of floating wind in Spain - report

French independent power producer Qair is said to be after one third of Spain’s 3-GW floating offshore wind pie, preparing plans to install its turbines in the Mediterranean and off the country's Atlantic coasts.

Spanish media outlet El Espanol reported on Monday that Qair had met with the ministry for the ecological transition to present three projects with a total combined capacity of just over 1,000 GW, set off the shores of the regions of Galicia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.

The largest of the projects, El Espanol reports, is the 594-MW Roleira, which Qair wants to install in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Pontevedra, Galicia. The proposed 236-MW Tamaragua wind farm would be situated in the waters of the Gran Canaria island and the 180-MW Gregal off the coast of the Balearic Islands.

Other companies and joint ventures have expressed interest in capturing gusts in these ocean spaces ahead of Spain’s offshore wind auction, including a partnership between Plenitude, BlueFloat Energy and Sener Renewable Investments, Greenalia, Capital Energy, Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR), to name some of them. The IberBlue Wind joint venture, on the other hand, is eyeing the waters of Andalusia.

There is still no word on when the auction will take place or what sea areas would be up for bidding. The Spanish government has established a target to reach up to 3 GW of floating wind capacity and up to 60 MW of other forms of marine energy by 2030. According to El Espanol’s report, proposals for more than 20 GW of offshore wind projects have landed on the desk of the ministry for the ecological transition.

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