Repsol and Ørsted to develop floating offshore wind in Spain

Repsol and Ørsted have formed a partnership to investigate floating offshore wind development opportunities in Spain. By combining their complementary strengths, the companies hope to become the field's leading developers. Repsol is an experienced player in this field due to its involvement in the Windfloat Atlantic project off the coast of Portugal.

Repsol and Ørsted have signed an agreement to jointly identify and develop floating offshore wind projects in Spain. By combining their strengths, both companies hope to become a leading developer in Spanish floating offshore wind. The alliance will combine Repsol's experience as a global multi-energy supplier and Ørsted's experience as a world leader in offshore wind.

One of the pillars of Repsol's decarbonization strategy is renewable energy generation. The company recently increased its installed capacity targets for 2030 to 20 GW, representing a 60% increase over the previous target. Installed capacity will reach 6 GW by 2025.

Repsol increased its investment ambitions for low-carbon projects in October 2021. The Madrid-based multi-energy company will invest an additional €1 billion in low-carbon projects between 2021 and 2025, bringing the total to €6.5 billion, up from €5.5 billion in the strategic plan approved in November 2020. Furthermore, Repsol became the first company in its industry to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050 in December 2019.

Ørsted brings three decades of experience in developing, constructing, operating, and owning bottom-fixed offshore wind farms and was recently awarded its first floating offshore wind lease area off the coast of Scotland. Ørsted has an expanding portfolio of onshore wind, solar, and renewable hydrogen projects, with a goal of installing 50 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

Ørsted has installed roughly 13 GW of renewable energy capacity to date, including offshore wind (7.6 GW), onshore wind (3.4 GW), and sustainable biomass (2.0 GW). Corporate Knights recently named Ørsted the world's most sustainable energy company for the fourth time in a row. The company has recently opened an office in Madrid.

Floating offshore wind is nearing commercialization after several years of concept development and small-scale testing, and the global floating offshore wind market is expected to reach 21 GW of installed capacity by 20351. Spain is aiming for 3GW of floating offshore wind by 2030, and the country's supply chain is well-prepared to enter the market thanks to decades of experience supplying Spain's massive fleet of onshore wind farms.

"Having Ørsted, the world leader in offshore wind, as a partner positions us to be relevant in the future development of the floating technology, which has growth potential on the Spanish coast and in which we already have experience thanks to our involvement in the Windfloat Atlantic project off the coast of Portugal,"

says Joo Costeira, Executive Director of Low Carbon Generation at Repsol.

"We're excited to join forces with Repsol to explore floating offshore wind developments in Spain and to reaffirm our commitment to driving the commercialization of this technology, which will extend the reach of offshore wind by enabling installations further offshore and deeper at sea,"

says Martin Neubert, Deputy Group CEO and Chief Commercial Officer at Ørsted.

"Spain has one of the world's largest fleets of onshore wind and solar PV farms, and by the end of this decade, Spain will also be producing renewable energy at scale from floating offshore wind farms,"

says Rasmus Errboe, Head of Region Continental Europe at Ørsted.

We are excited to collaborate with Repsol, Spain's leading energy provider, to help accelerate Spain's transition to renewable energy while creating local jobs and investing in the Spanish supply chain.

Source: Repsol news