PORTUGAL is planning to set up specifically purposed areas that would enable fast-track development of floating wind projects and technologies. The Technological Free Zones would allow speedier regulatory processes for floating wind developers and are intended to provide ideal environments and testing grounds for developing marine offshore technologies for wind power. "Floating wind in particular will play a significant role in the future energy transition. In recognition of this opportunity, Portugal is now planning specially adapted Technological Free Zones to turbocharge development," said Marco Alves, chief executive of WavEC, a local organisation focused on development of marine clean power, at the WavEC Offshore Renewables' Annual Conference in Lisbon, held in November. The Agucadoura test site and the Viana do Castelo pilot zones are already emerging as leading locations for such initiatives. Earlier this year, five Portuguese institutions - CEiiA, CoLAB+ATLANTIC, Forum Oceano, Inesc Tec, and WavEC Offshore Renewables - formed the OceanACT-Atlantic Lab for Future Technologies, with the aim of managing these two sites for the development, testing, demonstration and qualification of marine and offshore renewable technologies.
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