Offshore Wind Auction in Portugal: period for expressing interest in participating

Portugal - 11 / 03 / 2023

The Official State Gazette has published Announcement no. 220-A/2023 determining the opening of a period for expressions of interest to participate in the procedure for the award of offshore wind energy production rights.

The National Energy and Climate Plan 2030 (PNEC 2030), approved by Council of Ministers Resolution 53/2020, is the main energy and climate policy instrument for the 2021-2030 period. The ambition of this plan was reinforced in the first version of the revision of the PNEC 2030, presented on 30 June 2023, in which a target of 2 GW was set for ocean-going wind technology and the government assumed the ambition of allocating a capacity of 10 GW by 2030, through competitive procedures.

On October 30th, the Announcement no. 220-A/2023 was published in the Official Gazette determining the opening of an expression of interest period for participation in the procedure to award rights for offshore wind energy production.

1. What is the subject of future competitive procedures?

The aim of the future tender procedures will be to award injection capacity reservation titles in the Public Service Electricity Grid (RESP) for electricity for primary wind power generation centres located at sea, and titles for the private use of national maritime space (TUPEM).

2. And what are the reference areas for future procedures?

The procedures are based on the areas defined in the draft Allocation Plan for Offshore Renewable Energies (PAER), which is currently under public consultation and can be accessed via the ConsultaLEX Portal or the PARTICIPA Portal.

3. What to do in light of the Announcement?

Those interested in taking part in the future competitive procedure can formalise their interest within 10 working days of the publication of the Notice (i.e. until next 14th November), by sending a document that responds to the elements set out in Annex I of the Notice to the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG), exclusively electronically to the address [email protected].

4. What information is needed to formalise interest?

The expression of interest must include the following aspects:

Identification of the Interested Entity:
1. Company name.
2. Company type.
3. Legal person identification number.
4. Headquarters.
5. Phone number.
6. Email address.
7. Code to access the Interested Entity’s corporate certificate (or copy of the certificate).

Identification of the contact person authorised to represent the Interested Entity:
1. Name.
2. Identification card number (ID card or passport).
3. Postal address.
4. Email address.

Interested Entity's experience:
1. Information about the Promoter (Consortium).
2. Presentation of the promoter/consortium (number of employees, offices, investment, revenue, etc.).
3. Track record in developing renewable energy projects (licensing, construction, installation and commissioning):
  1. Onshore wind projects.
  2. Offshore wind projects.
  3. Other renewable primary source projects.
4. Experience in operating and maintaining renewable energy plants:
  1. Onshore wind farms.
  2. Offshore wind farms.
  3. Other renewable primary source power stations.
5. Indication of the plots of interest within the areas under public consultation relating to Viana do Castelo, Leixões and Figueira da Foz.
6. Financing models for the projects listed in (c)(i) and (ii).
7. Model for developing the equipment supply and assembly chains for the projects listed in (c)(i) and (ii).

It should be noted that, under the terms of the Announcement, interested parties who formalise their expression of interest will be invited to take part in a dialogue phase with a view to discussing options regarding the pre-qualification and bidding models.

If you have any further questions or queries about the advert, please contact your usual Garrigues contacts.

The sole purpose of this document is to provide relevant information in a general and non-detailed manner, and it is not intended to provide any kind of legal advice. It does not dispense with or replace consultation of the applicable legislation or the procedural documents.