Spain to Allow Offshore Wind Farms
By
Jane Burgermeister, Contributing Writer
August 3, 2007 | 5 Comments Vienna, Austria [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Spain -- the world's second leading producer of wind power -- has passed a new law allowing wind parks to be built off its coast. It is predicted that the offshore wind parks will generate between 2,000 and 3,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity by 2020. That would represent a major contribution to Spain's future wind power production.
"Spain is a peninsula with sea on three sides and so is one of the best places in the world for building wind farms at sea."
-- Carlos Montana, Spanish Ministry of Industry
In 2006, Spain had a total of 11,730 MW of capacity installed on its mainland. The new offshore wind farms will be built on sites along Spain's 4000-kilometer-long coast under a licence scheme. Experimental offshore wind farm projects have already been built on the sea-bed in sites around Cadiz, Huelva Castellon and in the Ebro Delta. Operators applying for a license to build an offshore wind farm in one of the government-designated zones will have to show that their wind park will generate at least 50 MW of electricity and also demonstrate that the wind turbines do not ruin the environment. Concerns about the impact of off shore wind parks on Spain's thriving tourist industry have been one reason why the construction of wind turbines has been restricted to the country's mainland.
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