PHAROS Was Presented at AquaWind Project Final Event at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

• May 8, 2026

The PHAROS coordinating team (PLOCAN; Pablo Reche, Project Manager) was invited to AQUAWIND’s final event in Las Palmas to participate in a roundtable discussion on the regulatory framework and deployment.

The panel included Pedro Mayorga (EnerOcean), Andrej Abramic (Maritime Affairs Data & Analytics), Néstor Ortega (PLOCAN’s test-site management department), and Juan Fernández Aldana (OAC Global), and was moderated by Javier Roo (Government of the Canary Islands; AQUAWIND Project Coordinator).

During the session, the moderator raised several questions addressing the current regulatory landscape and the key challenges faced by industry and R&D aquaculture projects when testing offshore demonstrators, as well as potential solutions to overcome these barriers. PHAROS highlighted the importance of knowledge and experience transfer from pioneering, cross-sectoral projects—such as AQUAWIND, which integrates aquaculture and renewable energy—to pave the way for subsequent initiatives like PHAROS.

In particular, PHAROS focuses on multi-use of space through Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) to mitigate aquaculture impacts, alongside artificial reefs and macroalgae forests for ecosystem restoration. Furthermore, PHAROS emphasised the critical importance of adequately accounting for permitting timelines in project planning, in order to avoid delays that could compromise project deadlines and the effective use of public funding.

Finally, PHAROS proposed future improvements to reduce the risks and time required for obtaining permits, including the implementation of a one-stop-shop model to streamline application procedures, as well as the development of open and standardised protocols tailored to the specific nature of multidisciplinary and multi-use offshore projects.

See the final event public session & agenda below:

AquaWind Final Event – Public Session – Aquawind

Aquawind Final Event – Agenda – Aquawind