(DEIA - Reportaje de I. Ugarte) Con objeto de abordar algunos de los retos energéticos del país y concretar las claves en el proceso hacia una suma mayor de renovables en el mix energético DEIA invitó a la ‘Mesa de Expertos Energías Renovables' a Iñigo Ansola, Director general del Ente Vasco de la Energía, Julio Castro, Director de Servicios Globales de Iberdrola Renovables, David Solé, Director de la División de Energía de Ingeteam Power Tecnology, Joseba Anasagasti, Director de Explotación y Operaciones de Giroa- Veolia y José Ignacio Hormaeche, Director del Cluster de Energía, que se encargó de moderar el encuentro.

The latest issue of Wind Energy Network magazine, in partnership with the Basque Energy Cluster, has published a special report on the Basque wind power sector, focusing on the companies and organisations that make up the "Wind Energy Basque Country" brand (pages 56-57).

The lab is partly funded by the Basque Government and enables testing of new materials and solutions against corrosion, ageing and fouling in the marine environment, in real conditions that are monitored on site. It meets the specific needs of Basque companies that want to increase their offshore energy business. Companies such as Erreka, Credeblug, Ditrel, Navacel, Tubacex, Vicinay, Nem Solutions and Sasyma Coatings will be the first to test their solutions, as part of an initiative promoted by the Basque Energy Cluster.

The Basque Energy Cluster held its General Assembly meeting for 2018 in the Bizkaia Technology Park, weighing up 2017 that was positive on the whole. Another year on, the key for Basque companies in the energy sector has been the growing development of investment in renewable energy in most international markets and our companies’ good competitive positioning in these markets. On a less encouraging note, difficulties were raised among Oil&Gas sector supplier companies, whose investments have continued to suffer due to the low price of oil.

The tender is divided into two phases. The first is aimed at the selection of promoters and developers interested in participating in the initiative and the exhibition of the demonstrator projects. The second phase, planned for the end of September, will focus on the proposal of innovative solutions by the value chain.

With the aim of showing the international press the capabilities of the Basque wind power sector throughout the entire value chain, on Friday, 20 April a group of reporters working with Borsen (Denmark), Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), Agence France Presse, Nikkei and Polska Agencja Prasowa, amongst others, visited WINDBOX, the first Wind Power Advanced Manufacturing Centre of the Basque Country, located in the facilities of IK4-Tekniker in Eibar.

The company Nautilus invited the Basque Energy Cluster to attend the workshop in Trondheim (Norway) and give a presentation on the capabilities of Basque companies in the offshore wind sector, and more specifically on those that are positioned to develop floating foundation solutions for wind turbines.

On 7th March, the Basque Energy Cluster organised, in conjunction with Shesa (Sociedad de Hidrocarburos de Euskadi), a business visit to the Viura project's gas deposit in Sotés, La Rioja. The visit was of special interest for companies of the Oil and Gas sector in the Basque Country, which were given the opportunity to discover first-hand a unique infrastructure for the conventional exploration and production of gas.

(El Diario Vasco - Fernando Segura) In the report, the HARSH Project consortium reveals the details to promote the off-shore platform in which the parts produced can be tested against salinity and other corrosive agents. The project is financed by the Basque Government's Department for Economic Development and Infrastructures (HAZITEK Programme) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

(DEIA Bizkaia, Asier Diez Mon's interview with José Ignacio Hormaeche; Photography by Borja Guerrero) Without wanting to celebrate too early, Hormaeche has confirmed that there has been a change of cycle in the Basque energy sector, which has gained strength abroad.