The European Commission is supporting a floating wind farm in Portugal with a €60 million (£53m) loan.

Windplus – a joint venture between EDP Renewables, Repsol and Principle Power – will use the loan for the 25MW project, located 20 kilometres off the coast of northern Portugal.

It is expected to generate enough power for 60,000 homes a year.

The turbines sit on floating platforms “that can flexibly adjust to the wind condition and direction and thereby maximise the efficiency in energy production”.

Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation said: “Today’s deal is another example of how EU financing is helping to lower the risk of rolling out innovative energy solutions like WindFloat.

“We need breakthrough technologies to accelerate the clean energy transition in Europe and lead the global fight against climate change. This will ultimately improve the quality of life and create new jobs and economic growth for citizens.”

The EU and a fund led by Bill Gates recently launched a €100 million (£88m) investment fund for “breakthrough” clean energy technologies.