The Port of Valencia has welcomed Spain’s first offshore solar platform, a pioneering project developed by the Spanish startup BlueNewables with the support of Naturgy. The platform, built at the San Enrique shipyard in Vigo and named Paiporta in honor of the Valencian municipality particularly affected by the DANA of 2024, will be located outside the southern breakwater of the Port of Valencia, where the testing phase for this initiative will take place.
This first structure is part of a project that calls for the development of two units, each with a capacity of 500 kW, for a total capacity of 1 MW. The second unit is expected to arrive at the Port of Valencia by late summer to complete the installation.
The project has received a grant from the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) as part of the RENMARINAS VALENCIAPORT program, coordinated by the Port Authority of Valencia and funded by the European Union’s NextGeneration EU initiative. Its goal is to advance the analysis and development of new renewable energy solutions that contribute to the energy transition.
The launch of this facility in the waters of the Port of Valencia is part of Valenciaport’s strategy to move toward a more sustainable, innovative, and efficient port model. The Valenciaport 2035 Strategic Plan identifies decarbonization, the energy transition, and climate resilience as its main areas of focus, promoting projects that enable the incorporation of new renewable energy solutions and the gradual reduction of the environmental footprint of port operations.
In this context, the open-sea floating photovoltaic project reinforces the Port of Valencia’s role as a hub for applied innovation in support of the energy transition. Its development allows for the real-world testing of a technology with the potential to contribute to clean energy generation in port and offshore areas, in line with the objectives of Valenciaport’s Net Zero Emissions Plan and with its ambition to move toward more self-sufficient, competitive, and carbon-neutral ports.
As part of this project, the APV will create a testing platform for connecting, testing, and feeding into the Port of Valencia and Sagunto’s power grid marine renewable energy demonstration systems, which will remain available for future use. This initiative also involves collaboration with EnerMarPort, which will install wave energy systems in the Port of Sagunto; the APV will carry out the necessary installation work to connect these systems to the grid and feed power into it.
The technology developed by BlueNewables incorporates an innovative catamaran-style design, optimized for operation in ocean environments. This system allows for the use of more efficient floats and positions the solar panels higher above sea level, improving both their performance and maintenance. In addition, the platform incorporates bifacial solar panels, capable of generating energy from both direct solar radiation and light reflected off the sea surface, thereby increasing the system’s efficiency. The facility is Spain’s first pre-commercial-scale floating solar power plant at sea.
Naturgy and BlueNewables will collaborate for two years to exchange technical, operational, strategic, and financial information related to the project’s development, both during the testing phase and in subsequent monitoring. This collaboration will include the analysis of performance data, technical incidents, costs, operations, and lessons learned to assess the potential of this technology.
