The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), following the confirmation of Ribera as Vice President and Commissioner for Competition and Green Transition at the European Commission, published the new Royal Decree on offshore wind energy, which introduces a regulatory framework for the development of this technology in Spain.

The regulation establishes public tenders for the allocation of projects in areas designated by maritime spatial planning plans, setting criteria to ensure sustainable and orderly development, prioritizing more mature areas with higher territorial acceptance. This new regulation generates high expectations in the renewable energy sector.

In addition to the Royal Decree, the Ministry seeks to promote the development of port infrastructure through grants and funds from the IDAE. Last month, they launched a public consultation on the regulatory bases for granting aid for investments in adapting the national port infrastructure.

The measure aims to foster the development of industrial projects in ports to facilitate the deployment of marine renewable energy, improve regulatory efficiency, ease subsidy management, and boost the adaptation of port infrastructures for the assembly, manufacturing, and maintenance of offshore wind projects.

The public consultation period was open from September 13 to September 27. In this context, authorities from PortCastelló stated they had submitted comments expressing their interest in contributing to the goal of physically adapting the port infrastructure to “develop a hub for the marine industry in the Mediterranean,” allocating up to 500,000 m² and 865 linear meters of the Costa quay with 16 meters of draft, extendable to 20 meters, in the South Dock of the port.

“These investments directly impact our expansion plan in the South Dock, as without the support these funds would provide, the short-term development of this area for offshore wind would not be possible,” says Adolfo Noguero, Head of Expansion at the Castellón Port Authority, in an interview with Energía Estratégica Spain.

He emphasizes that ports need financial aid to create spaces with the proper technical conditions for this type of industry.

“In our case, to dedicate the 500,000 m² we are talking about to this industry, we need to create that area on land, as it is currently water. To do this, we have already begun the work of constructing a closure dam, and later, the land will be filled with material from the construction waste of the railway access works to the port, as well as dredged material from the port’s own dock,” adds Noguero.

“Subsequently, the quays will be constructed, which must have a higher load-bearing capacity than usual to withstand the large tonnages handled by the offshore wind industry, particularly for the movement of floating concrete platforms,” he adds.

Offshore Wind Hub

It should be noted that PortCastelló aims to become an offshore wind hub by 2028, where various processes such as manufacturing, storage, and assembly of offshore wind installation parts will take place.

“We are hopeful to obtain the necessary support from the IDAE-MRR funds on one hand and on the other, we are expecting requests for administrative concessions from companies in the sector, with relevant potential within this industry, to base their Mediterranean operations at the Port of Castellón,” says the port representative.

As a new development in the project’s progress, the Board of Directors of the Castellón Port Authority, in its session held on June 28, agreed to initiate the “PROJECT FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE COSTA QUAY AREA – NORTH SECTION OF THE SOUTH DOCK OF THE PORT OF CASTELLÓN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY HUB,” under the provisions of Article 66 of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2011 of September 5, which approves the Consolidated Text of the Ports of the State and Merchant Marine Law (TRLPEMM), establishing a FIVE (5) MONTH period.

Therefore, companies interested in applying for a concession in the Port of Castellón for offshore wind projects have until the first week of December to submit their applications.