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To assess the opportunities offered by Spanish waters for the combined use of aquaculture activities and floating wind energy.
The study will be carried out in the 5 Spanish marine demarcations, in which the locations with the most ideal conditions to host both uses will be identified, the specific interactions for the development of both types of activity will be studied and possible business models applicable to the development of joint operations will be proposed.
In order to determine the most suitable areas for combined use, multi-criteria evaluation techniques will be applied, which will analyse the requirements for the design of wind farms and aquaculture uses, their operational requirements, as well as the technical-productive feasibility for the exploitation of the wind resource and the biological requirements of the species. The locations that meet the best conditions for the combined use of space will be analysed at local scale, studying the interactions that can and should occur between both activities.

A1. Analysis of the potential of the Spanish maritime space for the combined use of aquaculture and floating wind energy activities.
A2. Study of the interactions of aquaculture and floating wind energy.
A3. Proposal for a development framework for the joint exploitation of aquaculture and floating wind.
A4. Transfer, dissemination and dissemination.

The ACUFLOT project “Interactions between offshore aquaculture and wind energy FLOTante: challenges and opportunities towards the ecological transition of the Spanish maritime space” has analysed the opportunities for the joint exploitation of aquaculture and floating wind energy in the waters of Spanish sovereignty.

The results show that at the national level the areas that offer the best opportunities for multi-use between aquaculture and wind production are located in the Mediterranean region. In the Cantabrian and Atlantic region, the ideal areas are restricted to specific areas of the provinces of Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country.

The study on a local scale carried out in Gran Canaria focused on the waters between Arinaga and Maspalomas beaches, in the south of the island, as they are the coastal strip that presents the best opportunities for the combined exploitation of the two activities. The south of Gran Canaria presents optimal conditions to combine wind production with the cultivation of species such as Corvina, Sea Bream, Sea Bass, Bluefin Tuna, Denton, Mujil-Lisa, Snapper, Grouper, Sea Bream and Yellowtail. However, beyond the potential to exploit natural resources, it was analysed whether the two activities were also compatible with the environment, that is, whether these activities could be carried out, taking into account the activities and uses that were already being carried out in it, as well as the possible impact of these activities on the species and habitats present in the area. The results of this analysis showed that the greatest overlap with other uses occurs in the areas closest to the coast, reducing considerably with distance to the coast. In most of the area, the combined activity is compatible with the habitats and species present. The resilience analysis carried out shows high and medium values for the different types of habitats and groups of species analysed (cetaceans, bony fishes, elasmobranchs, reptiles and invertebrates).

During the development of the project, we have worked closely with the two main business associations of the aquaculture (APROMAR) and wind (AEE) sectors to define the supply-supply chain, identify the main synergies and advantages of the joint operation and jointly draw the roadmap for the future development in Spain of the multipurpose of wind energy and aquaculture.