The Secretary of State for the Sea announced this Thursday that the Government has requested the reprogramming of funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) for two projects to invest in the marine economy, in a global investment of 100 million euros.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, at the end of the “Ocean: People and Opportunities” initiative, which commemorated World Oceans Day in Viana do Castelo, José Maria Costa said that “one of the initiatives, with a budget of 50 million euros, the deepening of studies on the Portuguese coast” related “to knowledge in the field of oceanic renewable energy, but also to marine knowledge”.
“It is an important work that will allow Portuguese research centers and institutes to develop and get to know our coastline better,” said the official.
The Secretary of State for the Sea revealed that the second project, also with an investment of 50 million euros, is related to ‘Green Shipping’.
“Basically, it is a very important commitment to the decarbonization of maritime transport and to support national pilot projects of research centers” to change the use of “fossil fuels for other fuels.”
“It is also a very important signal that we want to give to Portuguese shipowners who make connections between the mainland and the autonomous regions, giving them opportunities to make improvements in transportation systems, especially in fossil fuels,” he stressed.
José María Costa added that the Government is making “a very strong commitment” to this change “since maritime transport has a significant weight in the emission of C02 [dióxido de carbono] on an international level”.
“Portugal wants to give a very important signal that it is attentive and wants to reduce these emissions,” he stressed.
According to José Maria Costa, the two initiatives, “among many others, such as an innovation and research project in the Savage Islands, in Madeira, have already been submitted to the European Commission and should be approved at the end of July.”
In the session that took place at the Viana do Castelo Sea Center, installed on board the Gil Eannes museum ship, the Atlantic OFFSHORE Wind Energy AOWINDE project was presented, from the Galicia – North Portugal Euroregion and financed by the INTERREG program.
A Lusa, Maria Campos, innovation technician from ASIME — Association of Metal Industries and Associated Technologies of Galicia, explained that the cooperation project, with a budget of 1.8 million euros, aims to develop all the necessary studies for the implementation physical up and running of an offshore wind farm.
“The intention is to carry out a pilot project of a virtual wind farm that allows the evaluation of the technological, environmental, social and economic impact of a real installation of this infrastructure,” explains María Campos.
AOWINDE, which started up in January and is scheduled to end in 2025, has as its objective, in a second phase, the installation of an offshore wind farm that will serve the Euroregion.
The project, which is being developed by a public-private consortium, “intends to analyze the need to improve the competitiveness of the European industry with zero net emissions and promote the rapid transition towards climate neutrality.”
In addition to ASIME, the Association of Metallurgical, Metal-mechanic and Related Industries of Portugal, the Galician Government, the Galician Energy Institute, the Universities of Vigo and A Coruña, the Chamber of Viana do Castelo, the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, Castelo, INESCTEC and CATIM — Technological Support Center for the Metal-Mechanical Industry.
The session included the presentation of the seven axes that make up the Viana do Castelo Action Plan of the Agenda do Mar 2030.
Miguel Marques, from Skipper&Wool, highlighted “the creation of an international offshore renewable energy technology center and an integrated platform for sustainable development and the acceleration of blue innovation anchored in the seaport.”
He also referred to the need to “leverage blue reindustrialization, through the construction, repair and conversion of ships, to promote the maternity of marine life, through sustainable aquaculture and fishing, to create a network of promoters of the economy of the sea”, were other of the axes of the action plan that he presented and that were identified by a working group that brought together different entities from different areas, from research and development, fishing, nautical, tourism, hotels, among others.
Source: Observadora
