© Supplied by RWE Wales is well positioned to benefit from emerging floating wind opportunities in the Celtic Sea, according to a leading renewable energy trade body.
RenewableUK Cymru director Jessica Hooper said a decision by The Crown Estate to award two offshore wind sites to Equinor and an EDF Renewables and ESB joint venture has the potential to be “transformative” for the Welsh economy.
The Crown Estate has allocated two offshore wind leases to Norwegian firm Equinor and the Gwynt Glas joint venture, with each site capable of providing up to 1.5 GW of capacity.
Hooper said Wales is “poised to play a leading role in offshore wind”.
“Over the next decade alone, there is up to £32 billion in economic value at stake, a £4.8 billion opportunity for Welsh businesses, alongside more than 3,000 well-paid jobs,” Hooper said.
Celtic Sea floating wind leasing round
The announcement fell short of ambitions to award all three sites on offer and deliver 4.5 GW of capacity.
But Hooper said that despite “challenging market conditions”, the successful bids from Equinor and Gwynt Glas represent an “important first step in building a much-needed pipeline of projects in the Celtic Sea”.
“To maximise the benefits of this technology and the investment in local facilities and supply chains we need long-term visibility on future leasing rounds and support in the upcoming clean power auction to start building out projects in Welsh waters and across the UK,” she added.
“This will provide certainty for developers and investors to scale up new floating wind supply chains and ensure that workers have the right skills to make Wales a world leader in this cutting-edge technology.”
© The Crown EstateRenewableUK deputy chief executive Jane Cooper said ports across south Wales and the South West of England will benefit from long-term opportunities over the lifetime of the windfarms.
“But this is just the start – the UK already has one of the largest floating project pipelines in the world, so we have an opportunity to deliver green economic growth at scale,” Cooper said.
“Our analysis shows that by 2050, floating turbines could provide a third of the UK’s offshore wind capacity with 40 gigawatts fully operational – enough to power every home in the country.
“By then, our research shows that the UK’s floating wind industry could employ 97,000 people, contributing £47 billion to our economy by building and supplying projects here as well as exporting our cutting-edge technology worldwide”.
Floating wind ‘no longer just a concept’
Trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) also welcomed the Celtic Sea announcement, calling it a “positive step towards scaling up the UK’s floating wind sector and advancing the energy transition”.
OEUK sustainability and policy director Mike Tholen said floating wind is a “natural fit” for the UK’s existing offshore supply chain.
“Floating wind is no longer just a concept, it’s scaling up and the UK is well placed to lead,” Tholen said.
© Supplied by Flotation Energy“This nascent technology is a natural fit for the UK’s existing oil and gas supply chain, drawing on established skills, vessels and infrastructure.
“It also enables access to deeper waters with stronger, more consistent wind and fewer conflicts with other sea users.”
Tholen called on the UK government to help the industry “scale up its supply chain” and deliver upgrades to grid infrastructure, ports and fabrication yards.
While many ports in Scotland and northern England are well suited to handling the large-scale offshore infrastructure associated with floating wind as a result of existing oil and gas industry, Celtic Sea ports are “effectively a greenfield site” for the emerging sector, according to experts.
Professor Deborah Greaves from the University of Plymouth told Energy Voice this means that the region’s ports, infrastructure and supply chains will “all need to be adapted” for floating wind.
Celtic Sea bidders
While The Crown Estate awarded two out of three sites on offer in the Celtic Sea, the organisation said it will continue efforts to secure a bid for the third and final site.
Meanwhile, successful bidders Equinor and Gwynt Glas will pay fees of £350/MW per year for the rights to develop wind farms at the sites – significantly lower than the fees generated by the ScotWind leasing round in 2022.
Offshore wind developers RWE, TotalEnergies and Ørsted had all indicated interest in the Celtic Sea acreage ahead of the leasing round. The Crown Estate said it will announce further delivery arrangements for the final zone at a later date.
