The call for expressions of interest on the offshore wind energy auction has closed and,  as of yesterday, the list of entities interested in participating in the competitive procedure is already available on the website of  DGEG, the Portuguese energy ministerial department.

Fifty companies from over 10 countries have expressed their interest in participating in the auction. This includes utilities such as Iberdrola, Repsol, GALP and TotalEnergies and developers such as GreenVolt,  BlueFloat, Acciona and Cerulean Winds.

All these companies will be invited to participate in the dialogue phase, the details of which are still unknown. This phase will run until January 2024, allowing the Portuguese Government to understand the specific intentions of each group and only then formulate the specific terms of the auction.

There is a high level of uncertainty about how the government’s fall and the general elections scheduled for March 10, 2024, will impact the auction’s structure and timeline. However, government officials have recently announced a two-phase auction.

The first phase, involving maritime space rights, will begin in early 2024. The date for the second phase, which involves the allocation of grid connection rights and the CfD, is yet to be determined.