MADRID, 26 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has started the public hearing, until next March 25, of the Royal Decree project that regulates the production of electrical energy in facilities located at sea, and which will serve as a tool to celebrate the offshore wind auctions.

Specifically, the regulatory proposal will allow for simultaneously granting, through a tender, the economic regime for renewable energies and the reservation of the capacity for access to the network and the concession for the use of the public-maritime-terrestrial domain for a maximum period of 30 years. the Ministry reported.

The contests that will serve to grant these rights, in addition to economic and technical criteria - price of energy, power quota to be granted, solvency of the participants, characteristics and requirements of the technology, etc. - may take into account other criteria, such as occupation of space, minimization of environmental impact, plans for dismantling equipment at the end of its useful life, creation of local employment and industry, participation of SMEs, or the impact on navigation, or support for other economic sectors, such as Fishing.

Furthermore, taking into account the complexity of the projects, there may be a public-private dialogue phase, in addition to the usual public participation and hearing procedures, to increase their positive socioeconomic externalities and favor their integration and compatibility with other uses of the sea.

This regulatory project will affect offshore wind installations and other marine energies, such as wave energy, that produce energy throughout the marine territory under Spanish jurisdiction.

The development of marine energies is a priority for the Government, which has already allocated 147 million euros for pilot demonstrator projects and testing platforms for marine renewables within the framework of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of Renewable Energies, Renewable Hydrogen and Storage (PERTE ERHA).

The Offshore Wind and Sea Energy Roadmap, and the update of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2023-2030, set the objectives of achieving up to 3 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind and up to 60 MW from other marine renewable sources until 2030.

This development, orderly, respectful of the environment and compatible with other uses and activities at sea, will generate important economic activity and will create some 40,000 jobs, the Ministry estimated.

To achieve the development objectives of offshore wind and sea energy, the Ministry approved the Maritime Space Management Plans, a zoning instrument for the different uses of the sea (fishing, navigation, energy production...), which includes 19 High Potential Zones (ZAP) for the installation of offshore wind turbines, with a surface area of ​​5,000 square kilometers, 0.46% of territorial waters.