Gran Canaria leads european interest in offshore wind energy

Wind Europe

Best in Gran Canaria attends Wind Europe for introducing Gran Canaria to the European offshore industry

Gran Canaria takes part in this year’s edition of Wind Europe, one of the most important exhibitions of the wind sector worldwide, which is taking place from 5 – 7 April in Bilbao, ‘Best in Gran Canaria’ represents the island – as the investment attraction initiative, that brings together the Economic Promotion Society of Gran Canaria (SPEGC in its Spanish acronym, Port Authority of Las Palmas, PLOCAN and the Maritime Cluster of the Canary Islands, among other regional institutions.

The experts claim that wind will become the major source of energy in Europe during this decade, so Wind Europe Bilbao 2022 represents an opportunity to highlight the strengths of ports and companies of the island, as global suppliers within the international framework. More than 8,000 attendees, 300 exhibitors, 300 speakers will participate in this year’s edition, and around 70 work sessions are expected to take place.

Focusing on onshore wind energy, Spain is the country with the best figures in Europe, with 27 GW of installed capacity, more than €3bn to Spain’s GDP and provides 28,000 jobs. Additionally, an Offshore Wind Roadmap has been designed – targeting up to 3 GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Canaries will be the spearhead of this strategy. As every strategy demands a well-planned installation process, Gran Canaria is positioned – thanks to its resources and talent -, as the main regional centre of offshore wind power.

In addition to the above, the Port of Las Palmas configures Gran Canaria as the only hub port in all of southern Europe and West Africa for this industry – being a global hotspot thanks to its development, logistics and 24/7 service capabilities, and also the perfect place for the deployment of wind offshore commercial projects.

To promote the Canary Islands potential in the offshore wind energy sector and under the new brand Canary Trade Winds (CTW), companies from the Canary Islands, the Maritime Cluster of the Canary Islands and FEDEPORT, are present as exhibitors together with ‘Best in Gran Canaria’, the Port Authority of Las Palmas, PLOCAN, ZEC and PROEXCA, among others.

The objective of ‘Best In Gran Canaria’ and SPEGC in this year’s edition of Wind Europe aims to introduce the advantages present on the island for the companies within this sector. Some of the outstanding services provided to support wind projects in their installation process on the island are: information on the Canary Islands tax system, advice on fiscal issues, information on the different sources available for financing R&D projects, the availability of qualified talent and where to find it or access to specialized and tailored training.