Ocean Winds (OW) and Canary Islands’ renewable energy company DISA Group have partnered to jointly develop floating wind projects in the Spanish archipelago.

“In the Canary Islands, the depth of the waters away from the coast makes it necessary to use floating wind technology, a technology in which Ocean Winds has demonstrated significant prowess in several countries”, Ocean Winds, a company owned by EDPR and Engie, states in a press release.

“The development of the floating offshore wind industry will provide an opportunity to strengthen the economic potential of Spain as a whole, with the Canary Islands benefiting in particular”.

The two companies also said that with their projects they would contribute to the progressive reduction in the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation in the Canary Islands. Offshore wind energy from the jointly promoted projects would double the current share of renewable energy, as well as reduce the cost of electricity generation on the islands, the new partners said.

Engie and EDPR established Ocean Winds last year and so far have a total of 1,500 MW of offshore wind under construction and 4 GW in advanced development, with multiple projects using floating wind technology.

Earlier this month, Ocean Winds’ WindFloat Atlantic project off Portugal became the world’s first classed offshore wind farm, after its three 8.4 MW floating turbines were accepted by the ABS Class Committee.

The company, together with Aker Offshore Wind, is also one of several developers competing to develop floating wind farms in Scotland.

In March, Ocean Winds entered into a partnership with the Greek renewable energy company Terna Energy to co-develop floating offshore wind projects in Greece.