• Ocean Winds supports Pedro Afonso, a local of the city where the WindFloat Atlantic project is located, in his professional career as kitesurfer as he pursues his goal of entering to the Olympics. 
• Pedro Afonso kite surfs through the project of his hometown, WindFloat Atlantic, 18 km offshore. 

14th June 2024 – Ocean Winds (OW), international company dedicated to offshore wind energy and created as a 50-50 joint venture in 2020 by EDP Renewables and ENGIE global, and Pedro Afonso, a prominent professional kite surfer from Viana do Castelo, Portugal, where our WindFloat Atlantic project is located, have partnered together to drive forward the synergies of the sport and offshore wind, both powered by the wind in the depths of the sea. 

In the Global Wind Day, Ocean Winds welcomes Pedro Afonso as an official OW Ambassador. We celebrated this news with the achievement of a significant challenge: riding his kitesurf board around the floating offshore wind farm of his hometown, WindFloat Atlantic. 

Pedro Afonso has kite surfed from the Viana do Castelo to Ocean Winds’ project, WindFloat Atlantic, the world’s first semi-submersible, and Europe’s first floating wind farm, located in the town of Viana do Castelo, where Pedro Afonso was born and raised. 

WindFloat Atlantic provides clean energy to 25,000 citizens per year, and the team collaborates with local stakeholders to promote beach clean-ups, educational programmes, and sustainable development of the offshore wind sector. 

Pedro Afonso aims to share not only his passion for kite surfing and its synergies with offshore wind, but also the positive impact WindFloat Atlantic has had on his town and community. 

After travelling more than 18 km from the port of Viana, from where the expedition departed, WindFloat Atlantic became the ideal setting for such a special sailing trip. Pedro found himself in the open sea, alone with the wind turbines, his board, his kite and the wind. 

Jose Miguel Moreira Pinheiro, Country Manager for Southern Europe and Project Director of WindFloat Atlantic, comments: “Ocean Winds prioritizes local stakeholders in all of its projects. Supporting a local kitesurfing professional from the town where our WindFloat Atlantic project is located fills us with immense pride, as does hearing Pedro’s firsthand account of the positive impact this offshore wind farm has had on the local community.” 

Pedro Afonso says: “It’s an honour to be OW Ambassador for a project that brings so much to the local community in my city, and which is based on the two elements that drive my career: wind and sea. As an Ambassador, I intend to share internationally the positive impact that Ocean Winds’ projects can bring to regions, as well as, of course, how it brings clean energy to its citizens.” 

Access here the video introduction of Pedro, kite surfing WindFloat Atlantic: New OW Ambassador! International Kite Surfer Pedro Afonso (youtube.com)