• GOE-Asime, Windar Renovables, Navantia Seanergies and the Xunta de Galicia held today in Ferrol the 6th edition of the Galician Offshore International Hub (GOinterHUB), Spain’s leading international offshore wind conference, inaugurated by Vice President Ribera.
• More than 35 speakers from leading companies, institutions, international associations and investors discussed the global potential of offshore wind energy and the current challenges for its development and deployment.
• This year’s conference gained special relevance as a forum for presentation and debate following the approval, this very Tuesday, of the Maritime Spatial Planning Plans (POEM) by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.
• The event was sponsored by Naturgy-Equinor, Galenergy, Iberdrola, Indasa, the Port Authority of Ferrol-San Cibrao and Banco Santander.

Once again, the 6th edition of the international GOinterHUB conference brought together in Ferrol more than 400 business leaders, technicians and representatives of organizations linked to offshore wind energy to highlight logistical capabilities and business cooperation.

After several working meetings and the traditional visit to the Navantia-Fene facilities held yesterday, today, Friday, March 3, the 6th edition of the conference took place, featuring more than 35 national and international speakers. The objective: to discuss the current state of offshore wind energy in Galicia, Spain and worldwide, and to shed light on the developments needed to boost this fast-growing international industry in our country, where Galicia has enormous capabilities across the entire value chain.

Justo Sierra, President of Asime, highlighted during the opening that “GOinterHUB is the leading international offshore wind conference in Spain, with six editions behind it.” “This year we are holding the conference at a decisive moment for Spain, given the future that is opening up for this industry and for renewable energies with the approval of the Maritime Spatial Planning Plans. This is a regulatory framework we have been waiting for a long time and on which we have all worked intensively. It will finally allow us to decisively promote this industry, in which Galicia has much to contribute, both due to the experience of our industry across the entire value chain and the enormous wind resource along our coasts, now regulated under the North Atlantic demarcation, the largest in Spain with more than 2,000 square kilometers of potential areas for offshore wind farm deployment. We are confident that this new regulatory framework will enable structured yet decisive investment planning, in many cases already proposed and now finally able to materialize, always maintaining a focus on generating industrial footprint for Galicia and its companies, which are fully prepared to meet this future challenge posed by offshore wind on the path toward decarbonization and sustainability of our economy. This has been clearly demonstrated by all the presentations and reflections shared today at this conference,” added Sierra.

Asime also recalled that there are currently “1,600 people working directly in offshore wind in Galicia, figures that could rise to 5,000 direct jobs with the installation of between 1.5 and 3 GW of capacity in offshore wind farms in our territory in accordance with the approved POEM.”

Orlando Alonso, President of Windar Renovables, stated that “Windar and Navantia have created the first European XL monopile factory here in Ferrol. It is a globally recognized reference center; very few are capable of manufacturing all three types of offshore foundations in one place.”

Ricardo Domínguez, President of Navantia: “In 2014 we began our commitment to offshore wind at Navantia. Over these 10 years, we have built the structures for 11 of the 13 floating wind farms in existence worldwide. We must leverage the work carried out together with Windar, Iberdrola, Ocean Winds and up to 60 SMEs in the region to develop the industrial ecosystem.”

Juventino J. Trigo, Mayor of Fene: “This conference once again positions Ferrolterra as the capital of offshore wind. We have a dynamic university, suitable facilities, leading companies and highly qualified professionals. We must become a hub for offshore wind, while strictly respecting diversity, coexistence with fishing, and the economic development of the territory where these projects are located.”

Paula Uría, Secretary General of Industry, Xunta de Galicia: “We face the challenge of multiplying installed capacity to become a leading industrial hub, but not at any cost. We want to move forward together with both the industrial and the maritime-fishing sectors, ensuring the development of this powerful industry while respecting the environment and coexistence with other activities. Within this framework of cooperation and constructive dialogue, we have launched the Offshore Wind Observatory and the Supercluster Atlantic Wind together with GOE-Asime and partners from Asturias and Cantabria to promote northern Spain as a driver of this industry.”

Ángel Mato, Mayor of Ferrol: “Coexistence with fishing, transport, defense and environmental protection is non-negotiable, but so is the use of the best wind resource in the peninsula, which is precisely located along our coasts. This will allow us to achieve a more sustainable energy mix, reduce energy costs, and continue developing technology for the generation, distribution and maintenance of offshore wind farms, retaining talent and diversifying our industry.”

Teresa Ribera, Third Vice President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge: “The approved POEM are not offshore wind plans; they are maritime spatial planning instruments, a framework that guarantees coexistence between this industry, fishing, defense and other activities. We wish we had had such a planning framework when onshore wind began to be deployed in our country. This is a key step that provides the guarantees needed to continue working together through dialogue, to now define how and where to implement projects within these areas, how to ensure coexistence with other activities, and, where necessary, what compensations are required. It is a highly relevant first step in our path toward affordable energy, secure and flexible systems, and an orderly transition that does not jeopardize economic security or social and environmental well-being. Innovation, the industrial value chain, professional training and regulation must go hand in hand to continue strengthening our industry, employment and national well-being.”

Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, Europe’s leading wind energy association, once again participated in the conference to share his vision of the industry’s potential: “Today Europe has 30 GW installed across 126 offshore wind farms, contributing €7.5 billion to the European economy, but over the past 14 months there has been no new investment in offshore wind farms in Europe due to inflation, which has increased the cost of each turbine by 40%.”

Dickson added: “We face a major challenge, also in terms of capacity, because currently our European industry can only produce annually 7 GW of offshore turbines, 460 foundations, 5 substations and 1,200 km of cable, while we will need 20 GW, 1,200 foundations, 20 substations and more than 2,000 km of submarine cables.”

BlueFloat Energy-Sener, Capital Energy, Esteyco, Galenergy, Greenalia, Iberblue Wind, Naturgy-Equinor and Repsol-Ørsted highlighted in a roundtable their plans to promote offshore wind farm deployment in our waters. Meanwhile, the Ports of Ferrol, A Coruña and Avilés addressed the regulatory framework and infrastructure capabilities required, emphasizing that “northern Spain is a key reference point.”

At the international level, representatives from offshore wind clusters and associations also joined GOinterHUB, including Supercluster Atlantic Wind (SAW), Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster, Ramboll, Polish Wind Energy Association and the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE).

There was also room to present European initiatives with Galician participation, such as the FLORES project, promoted by Asime, Cetmar and the University of A Coruña together with 15 partners from 8 different countries. Currently, the offshore renewable energy sector represents around 80,000 jobs, and is expected to generate up to 54,000 new vacancies over the next five years across Europe. “There are significant training needs for professionals; therefore, through the FLORES project we will work intensively to provide training materials, career guidance and talent attraction to the sector, through an unprecedented international partnership.”

Next, Nervión Naval Offshore, Grupo Intaf, Industrias Ferri, Armón Vigo and Astilleros Gondán Shipbuilders showcased examples of offshore wind’s impact as a generator of local industrial footprint.

Before closing the conference, Navantia Seanergies, Windar Renovables, Iberdrola and Ocean Winds shared their vision of global cooperation and the synergies established for the present and future of offshore wind.

Abel Méndez, Commercial Director of Navantia Seanergies: “Our role as a driving company is to support the industry—we seek technology transfer, areas for local development and to raise awareness of what lies ahead. We accompany, invest and encourage others to join what we believe will be an avalanche of projects and demand for qualified professionals. In Ferrol we have facilities that are privileged in terms of size, sea access and draft, which, together with those in other parts of Spain and the experience of our industry, should position us as an international engine.”

Javier García, Offshore Director Europe at Iberdrola: “Thanks to Iberdrola’s visionary work ten years ago, Galicia now has an international benchmark in the offshore wind supply chain. To consolidate investments, we need clarity from the administration regarding timelines, energy supply requirements, grid connection and permitting processes… offshore wind projects are developed over an 8-year horizon, and other European countries have an advantage in permitting within their own territories. The administration also faces a major challenge ahead.”

Nacho Rodríguez, Chief Commercial Officer of Windar Renovables: “This is an extremely dynamic sector in which there is constant dialogue across the value chain to prepare for the next generation of technologies. Over the past eight years, our facilities have undergone deep transformation—this is the path that all stakeholders in this industry must follow.”

Manuel Fernández, Business Development Director in Spain at Ocean Winds: “Offshore wind is an activity that is highly regulated by the administration in terms of where, how and where the offshore wind farm connects. We have the technology, but the vision across the value chain is essential, ensuring it effectively reaches all levels of project participation.”

At the closing session, Francisco Conde, First Vice President of the Xunta de Galicia, emphasized that: “Offshore wind is shaping Galicia’s industrial and energy agenda. From Ferrolterra, Galicia speaks with authority, as demonstrated in this 6th GOinterHUB. Today it is impossible to compete in the global market without strong installed capabilities, which in Galicia are highly significant, with Navantia-Windar-Iberdrola contracts worth €1.3 billion, in addition to the new monopile plant and the new Nervión Naval Offshore factory, among many other initiatives that demonstrate our strong industrial footprint. For the deployment of this industry in our waters, we must collectively ensure the preservation of marine ecosystems and the protection of a key sector for Galicia—fishing—which requires dialogue and consensus within frameworks such as the Offshore Wind Observatory promoted by the Xunta de Galicia.”

The 6th GOinterHUB thus concluded a day of intense debate and high expectations, with more than 400 participants in a program of activities that had already begun yesterday with various working meetings, the traditional visit to the Navantia-Fene shipyard facilities and a networking dinner at Pazo do Monte for all conference participants.