Repsol and Ørsted to explore joint development of floating offshore wind projects in Spain

After several years of concept development and small-scale testing, floating offshore wind is now on the brink of commercialisation, and the global floating offshore wind market is expected to reach 21 GW of installed capacity by 2035, according to estimates from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Spain targets 3 GW floating offshore wind by 2030, and the Spanish supply chain is well-prepared to enter floating offshore wind on the back of decades of experience from supplying to Spain’s massive fleet of onshore wind farms.

Martin Neubert, Deputy Group CEO and Chief Commercial Officer at Ørsted, says: "We’re excited to join forces with Repsol to explore floating offshore wind development in Spain and to reaffirm our commitment to driving the commercialisation of this technology, which will extend the reach of offshore wind by enabling installations further offshore and in deeper waters.” 

According to João Costeira, Executive Director of Low Carbon Generation at Repsol: "Having Ørsted, the world leader in offshore wind, as a partner positions us to be relevant in the future development of the floating technology, with which we already have experience thanks to our involvement in the Windfloat Atlantic project off the coast of Portugal.”

Rasmus Errboe, Head of Region Continental Europe at Ørsted, says: “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 green energy at scale from floating offshore wind farms. We look very much forward to working with Repsol, the country’s leading energy provider, to help accelerate Spain’s transition to renewable energy while creating local jobs and investing in the Spanish supply chain.”

Renewable power generation is one of the pillars of Repsol's decarbonisation strategy. The company recently raised its installed capacity targets for 2030 to 20 GW, an increase of 60% compared to the previous target. By 2025, installed capacity will increase to 6 GW. In October 2021, Repsol increased its investment ambitions for low-carbon projects. Between 2021 and 2025, the Madrid-based multi-energy company will allocate an additional EUR 1 billion to low-carbon projects, raising the total to EUR 6.5 billion from the EUR 5.5 billion set out in its strategic plan approved in November 2020. Moreover, in December 2019, Repsol became the first company in its sector to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050.

As the global leader in offshore wind, 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 a growing portfolio of onshore wind, solar, and renewable hydrogen projects and has an ambition of installing 50 GW renewable energy by 2030. To date, Ørsted has installed approximately 13 GW renewable energy capacity across offshore wind (7.6 GW), onshore wind (3.4 GW), and sustainable biomass (2.0 GW). Ørsted was recently ranked the world’s most sustainable energy company by Corporate Knights for the fourth consecutive time. The company recently set up office in Madrid.