Page 43: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2025)

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offshore environments – are becoming a major component

Ports, Supply Chains, and Workforce of project risk profles. This in turn raises the cost of capi-

Portugal’s ports—such as Setúbal and Viana do Caste- lo—have the potential to serve as industrial hubs for the tal, making innovation not only a technical but also a f- assembly and logistics of foating platforms. These sites nancial issue, and a key driver of capital.

beneft from Portugal’s legacy in shipbuilding and marine

Strategic Takeaways for engineering, offering a skilled workforce, modular fabrica-

Portugal and Beyond tion capabilities, and easy access to the Atlantic.

To move from promise to performance, Portugal and its

However, as seen across Europe, critical infrastructure gaps remain one of the major bottlenecks for foating wind peers must act decisively: • Policy certainty must match ambition. An- deployment. While Portugal has the infrastructure to sup- port smaller projects, to reach scale, projects will require nounced targets need follow-through with timely auctions signifcant port upgrades, including heavy-lift capacity, and clear permitting pathways.

• Infrastructure investment must precede project laydown space, and grid connectivity.

investment. Grid and port upgrades are part of the critical

Furthermore, supply chain uncertainty is delaying in- path and must be de-risked early.

vestment in component manufacturing and facility up- • Industrialisation is essential. Supply chains need grades. This contributes to long lead-times for turbines, substations, and other critical infrastructure. Without visibility and volume guarantees to justify expansion.

• Credibility attracts capital. Financing will fow to stronger demand signals and coordinated policy action, this supply chain inertia could threaten the timely delivery projects that combine technical readiness, political align- ment, and predictable economics.

of national renewable targets.

Portugal offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate that innovation—particularly in foating platform design,

Financing the Future

Despite growing momentum, foating wind is entering mooring systems, and system integration—can unlock a more selective fnancial environment. A broader capital the scale, cost reduction, and energy resilience needed for this next phase of offshore wind. For Gazelle Wind Power crunch in the offshore wind sector—driven by project im- pairments and investor pullouts—has raised the cost of it’s about pioneering the solutions that can make foating capital. Investors are shifting toward lower-risk markets wind affordable and viable at industrial scale.

Portugal’s success will depend not just on its natural re- and proven technologies, making it more diffcult for in- sources, but on its ability to turn targets into timelines, novative foating wind projects to secure funding.

and policy into projects. If the country continues to align

One key factor increasingly shaping the pace of deploy- ment is the cost of fnancing. As interest rates remain high infrastructure, supply chain, and fnancing tools behind its foating wind ambition, it will be well-positioned to and macroeconomic uncertainty looms, insurance premi- ums – especially for novel technologies operating in harsh emerge as a European leader in this vital sector.

MAY/JUNE 2025 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 43