German utility RWE has signed an agreement with the Port Authority of Setúbal to adapt the port’s infrastructure and turn it into a floating wind energy hub. The port, located south of Lisboa, will become an important industrial hub for the marshalling, assembling, and deploying key components for large-scale floating offshore wind projects. Portugal has favourable wind speeds and is gearing up for its first offshore wind auction. Portugal chose floating wind as the preferred technology due to the country’s considerable water depths. The government has undertaken significant preparatory work ahead of awarding floating offshore wind development rights. RWE has already secured a commercial-scale floating wind lease off the Californian coast and is also involved in two high-profile floating wind project demonstration projects which are in operation – Tetra Spar in Norway and DemoSATH in Spain. “Enhancing port capacity and supply chains is crucial for the successful deployment of commercial-scale projects. This will create opportunities to attract investment, spur growth, and generate skilled employment,” said Álvaro de Miguel, RWE Offshore Wind’s Portugal country lead. “Our sustainable development strategy is clearly outlined and aims to transform the Port of Setúbal into an economic hub for sustainable development projects in areas such as biofuels, offshore wind, bio-industry, and sustainable ship repair, among others,” added Carlos Correia, Port Authority of Setúbal chairman. Earlier this week, RWE signed a land lease agreement with the Ustka Port Authority in Poland to build an operations and maintenance base for the F.E.W. Baltic II offshore wind farm. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsGermany Offshore Wind Portugal