The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands has organized a workshop where several mechanisms to keep pace with technological innovations and social needs with regulatory development have been analysed. Spanish and Portuguese players from the offshore renewable energy value chain have participated in it.
Representatives of the industry, academia, government, administration and civil society discussed the best practices in the management of authorizations and permits related to offshore renewable energies that already exist in Portugal and other European countries, as well as the current status and how they can be transferred to Spain.
Likewise, it has been agreed that this workshop will be the first in a series of initiatives dedicated to facilitating and accelerating the deployment of offshore renewable energies in Spain and that, as a result of it, a report will be generated including the agreements and highlights, which will be raised to the relevant authorities.
This workshop is framed and co-financed by the project “GRRIP – Grounding RRI practices in research performing organizations”. One of the objectives of the GRRIP project is to establish responsible research and innovation practices in organizations of the maritime marine sector in general and in the field of offshore renewable energies in particular.
Managing licenses and permits are an important part of any offshore renewable energy project. The small number of devices deployed at sea in Spain, the numerous public administrations involved in the process and the lack of detail on the potential impact on the marine environment leads to cautious approaches. This may slow down the granting of licenses and delay or even lead to the withdrawal of the implementation of the devices and parks.
Various solutions, often simple, could significantly improve the management of licenses and permits related to offshore renewable energy projects.
