New offshore wind farm is planned in Spain

In front of the coasts of the municipalities of Níjar and Carboneras and using floating wind technology, the Mar de Ágata Offshore Wind Farm is developed by the joint venture of BlueFloat Energy and SENER.

A joint venture between BlueFloat Energy and SENER is developing Mar de Ágata, one of the first floating offshore wind farms in Andalusia, which will be located in the Mediterranean Sea, off the eastern coast of Almería, between the municipalities of Níjar and Carboneras.

This wind farm will have an installed capacity of 300 MW (corresponding to 28% of the current electricity consumption in the province of Almería). During the useful life of the park, estimated at 30 years, Mar de Ágata will allow savings of 12 million tons of CO2.

The project will have a strong positive impact on the economic activity and job creation. Specifically, it would lead to the generation of 3,750 direct jobs and 3,750 indirect jobs during the construction and decommissioning phases, out of which at least 55% are expected to be created in Andalusia. During the operation and maintenance phase, the employment generated would be around 120 jobs per year, of which 60 would be direct. Therefore, it represents an opportunity for the reconversion of economic activity in the area, after the closure of the Carboneras thermal power plant, taking advantage of the existence of a just transition node in the 400 kV “Litoral” electrical substation, located in this municipality.

Thanks to Mar de Ágata, the installed wind capacity in the province of Almería would increase by 59%, and the total wind capacity in Andalusia would grow by 8.6%. In economic terms, the effect on the national GDP is estimated at 630 million euros, which would represent 0.28% of the Andalusian GDP.

The wind farm will be equipped with 20 floating offshore wind turbines, 15 MW each. The maximum estimated height of each wind turbine will be 261 meters above sea level, which will be located more than 15 kilometers away from the main viewpoints of Cabo de Gata (La Amatista and La Isleta del Moro).

The planned evacuation point, the SE Litoral, in the municipality of Carboneras, will be located less than 10 kilometers from the site of the wind farm, so the project does not contemplate the development of an offshore electrical substation.

The identification of the site for the project has been carried out based on a rigorous analysis of the technical and environmental conditions: wind resource, availability of electrical connections with capacity, environmentally protected areas and species, fishing, depths, geomorphology of the seabed, waves, maritime traffic, air navigation and easements of the Ministry of Defense.

In this way, the location of the fishing grounds and the areas where the main fishing fleets operate, in the ports of Almería, Carboneras and Garrucha, have been taken into account, minimizing the possible impact that the installation may have on the fishing activity. The areas of passage of maritime traffic have also been taken into consideration.

The developers of the project are working with the local administrations, stakeholder organizations, associations and the rest of the local entities to reach consensus around the project, in a way that benefits the whole territory and its population in the context of environmental sustainability.

The conservation of ecosystems, both marine and onshore, and the associated biodiversity, are also considered a priority, in the context of the just ecological transition. In this sense, Mar de Ágata, beyond the specific studies on environmental impact and those related to the marine space, will apply the best international practices to minimize the possible effects of the project on flora and fauna.