Portugal's Galp partners TotalEnergies to explore offshore wind opportunities at home
Galp Energia has moved aggressively into solar energy and onshore wind but has now made a preliminary move in offshore wind ahead of a keenly awaited Portuguese tender
Portuguese oil and gas company Galp Energia and French peer TotalEnergies are to explore potential offshore wind opportunities in Portugal together, ahead of that country’s planned push to rapidly build up 10GW of capacity in the sector.
Galp, which has significant investments in Brazilian oilfields, has already heavily invested in solar energy projects in Portugal and Spain but has so far held back from commitments to the offshore wind sector.
TotalEnergies was an early mover into offshore wind among oil majors, as a partner in the 1.1GW Seagreen-1 fixed-bottom offshore wind project in the UK, now nearing completion.
The French company has signed agreements to develop floating offshore wind projects in other countries, including South Korea and France, and says its global portfolio stands at 12GW.
The two companies said they will now work together to develop potential offshore wind projects along the Portuguese coast, combining Galp’s strong presence in this market with TotalEnergies’ expertise in large-scale offshore wind projects.
In its press release, Galp referred to “a range of opportunities given its wide coastline with favourable weather conditions and the existing industrial infrastructure.”
Olivier Terneaud, vice president for offshore wind at TotalEnergies stated: “We are delighted with this new partnership with Galp, one of the most relevant players in Iberia, which will contribute to our ambition to install 100GW of global renewable generation capacity by 2030”.
TotalEnergies said it aims to add offshore wind to a Portuguese renewables portfolio that already includes 1GW of solar and wind projects in operation or under development.
Georgios Papadimitriou, Galp’s executive board member for renewables, new businesses, and innovation, said the Portuguese company intends to provide a wide range of low-carbon energy and renewables solutions to remove emissions from its industrial base.
“As the country is looking into offshore wind, we could think of no better partner to team-up with than TotalEnergies as we prepare to explore this new opportunity,” he stated.