the ports of Las Palmas and Granadilla are emerging as the main candidates to host the first operational base that provides service to the incipient sector of the offshore wind energy in the Canary Islands, a project with which the Islands aspire to transform their naval industry while reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. The public company Navantia, which has become one of the largest global players in the sector, confirmed this Thursday, together with Pymar, a company that brings together the main private shipyards in the country, their interest in establishing alliances in the Archipelago to build these facilities collaborating with the local naval sector and public administrations.
The two venues have the necessary technical characteristics for this type of infrastructure
The director of Green Energies of Navantia, Javier Herrador del Rioand the CEO of Pymar, Almudena Lopez del Pozoreviewed with the president of the Canary Islands, Angel Victor Torres, the perspectives of the naval sector in the Islands and the possibility of diversification that offshore wind power represents for this industry. Although it is still in an initial phase, during the meeting the possible sites for the projectwhich ranges from the assembly and transport processes to the maintenance of the structures on which the wind turbines are located.
The two locations that are considered as most likely for the installation of this platform are the Port of Las Palmas and Granadilla, in Tenerife. In both cases, the enclosures have the necessary technical characteristics for this type of industrial infrastructure, with large diaphanous esplanades in which to handle the oversized pieces of marine devices and deep draft docks to carry out maritime operations. In addition, the naval sector of the capital of Gran Canaria, where the first offshore wind turbine in Spain is in operation For two years now, it has already had experience in assembling floating structures similar to those that will be used in future parks in the Archipelago.
Reinforcement of R+D+i
In a media briefing after the meeting, Torres expressed his satisfaction with the project, regardless of the final location that its promoters will still have to decide. “I am happy because they come to the Canary Islands, to any of the eight islands,” he stressed. He recalled, in any case, that similar industries may be established in various ports, although at first a specific location is chosen to start the work. The Canarian president, who estimated the investment at around 80 million euros with the creation of 800 jobs, described the proposal as an opportunity to strengthen R&D&I in the Islands, even exporting its products, and linked its implementation under way to the strategic project for economic recovery and transformation (Perte) of the naval sector prepared by the Government of Spain, as well as the European recovery funds Next Generation.
The public naval company seeks alliances with local partners and administrations
The project they are considering Navanty and Pymar follows a collaborative model that seeks the involvement of public administrations, port authorities, the naval fabric of the Archipelago and the auxiliary industry, which in the case of ports such as Las Palmas have already successfully overcome other transformations in the sector, like the one that two decades ago made it possible to open a market for the oil industry. In the current attempt to reduce polluting emissions, for shipyards and workshops it is natural to switch to offshore windan activity that requires naval work similar to that used to extract hydrocarbons on the high seas.
The search for agreements with the local sector was also behind the meeting that the Navantia and Pymar delegation held in the Port of Las Palmas with the president of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, Luis Ibarraand representatives of the Canarian Confederation of Entrepreneurs (CEC) and the Canarian Federation of Port Companies (Fedesport). Conversations between the public company and the companies of the Gran Canaria complex had taken place in recent months, with trade missions to establish contacts that forged yesterday with the meeting at the central building of the Port Authority.
Navantia’s experience, key
The Director of Green Energies of Navantia emphasized the experience of the company in the wind sector on the high seas, one of the factors that most attracts the naval sector of the Islands due to the possibilities that it entails for expansion to other markets. Public shipyards have become a leading player in the world over the last decade, with eleven construction contracts for five countries. “Navantia can contribute the value of all this experience, collaborating with the Canarian industry in this framework of opportunities that is opening up and that will result in sustainable growth and the generation of qualified employment,” said Herrador del Río.
The CEO of Pymar, for his part, highlighted the potential of the Canary Islands, which in his opinion “has the necessary elements to be a benchmark in this sector.” For López del Pozo, the development of wind power in the Archipelago “would boost its industrial fabric and generate numerous jobs and significant growth.”
The president of the Las Palmas Port Authority assured in this regard that La Luz is now “prepared to take the next qualitative leap in the offshore industry, offshore wind power” and reviewed the initiatives carried out by the administration to develop the sector “in optimal operating conditions”. “One of the successes of our port community is its ability to adapt to disruptive changes in the global maritime sector and, above all, its initiative, professionalism and perseverance,” Ibarra added.
The president of the CCE, Agustin Manrique de Lara, advanced the “strong economic and social impact” that the take-off of this industry will have, “particularly in the Port of Las Palmas” due to the reputation and level of quality acquired in the oil & gas industry until it became “a world benchmark” . Finally, the president of Fedeport, Jose Juan Ramosadvocated “modernizing port infrastructures, reordering the scarce public port land and promoting the entire industrial value chain and services, including capacities and workforce” as a successful formula to achieve the benefits linked to the sector.
