The Crown Estate has awarded seabed rights to Equinor and the Gwynt Glas joint venture between EDF Renewables UK and ESB to develop two 1500MW floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea off the coasts of Pembrokeshire and Devon.
The winners were selected following the conclusion of Round 5 of the UK’s offshore wind leasing programme. A third project development area remains unallocated, with The Crown Estate expected to announce further details later in the year.
UK Energy secretary Ed Miliband called it “transformative for economic growth in Wales and the South West,” continuing: “The Celtic Sea has huge untapped potential to support our mission to become a clean energy superpower, so we can get energy bills down for good through our Plan for Change.”
Trine Borum Bojsen, senior vice president for renewables Europe at Equinor, said the leasing “offers the scalability and timing flexibility we seek” and reaffirmed the company’s long-term commitment to the UK market.
Equinor developed the world’s first floating turbine (Hywind Demo) in 2009, the world’s first floating offshore wind farm (Hywind Scotland) in 2017 and the world’s largest (Hywind Tampen) which started production in 2022. Equinor currently operates nearly half of the world’s floating wind generating capacity.
Gwynt Glas, a 50:50 venture between EDF and Irish utility ESB, secured the second lease. Matthieu Hue, CEO of EDF Renewables UK said, “We look forward to further developing the Gwynt Glas offshore wind farm, helping the UK maintain a market leading position in floating wind and recognising the important role that floating wind can play in the UK’s ambition towards reaching net zero.”.
Agreements for lease are expected this autumn, enabling Equinor and Gwynt Glas to begin formal development and consent processes. EDF said that the consenting process is expected to take three to five years with the wind farm potentially becoming fully operational in early 2030s.
Port Talbot and the Port of Bristol have been named as likely hubs for final turbine assembly. Both projects will aim for a workforce in which 3.5% are apprentices and at least 10% of those aged 19–24 were previously not in employment, education or training.
Tom Hill, Chair of the Celtic Sea Developer Alliance said “[the] announcement is a defining moment for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively to ensure these projects are successful, and deliver long-term value for the economy and communities in Wales and the South West.”
The new windfarms will be among the largest of their kind in the world. The Crown Estate said that there is the potential for a further 4-10 gigawatts in the Celtic Sea to be brought to market by the end of the decade.