Energy company EDF Renewables UK has inked a partnership with ESB and Reventus Power to develop a 1.5GW floating offshore wind farm in the Celtic Sea.
Under the terms of the agreement, each company will acquire a 33.33% share in the Gwynt Glas project, and the partnership is gearing up to bid in the upcoming Crown Estate’s Leasing Round 5.
As reported in December 2023, the Celtic Sea Leasing Round 5 auction is set to be one of its largest yet, with 4.5GW available for companies to bid on. This is part of a continuous development aiming to scale renewable technologies in the Celtic Sea, with The Crown Estate having previously said that it could be an opportunity “worth up to 1.4 billion”.
Matthieu Hue, CEO of EDF Renewables UK, said: “We are delighted to welcome ESB and Reventus Power onboard as our new joint venture partners at Gwynt Glas.
“We already work with ESB on other projects, including Neart na Gaoithe, our offshore wind farm, currently under construction in the Firth of Forth and the Stornoway onshore wind farm in the Western Isles.
“We have a close relationship with the Reventus Power team, having worked with them on Provence Grand Large, France’s first floating offshore wind farm.”
Hue added: “We are fully committed to developing Gwynt Glas Floating Offshore Wind Farm, and look forward to delivering clean energy, supporting skilled jobs and boosting local economies.”
The Celtic Sea opportunity
The prowess of the UK’s offshore wind sector and how it has helped shape global developments, particularly with the international acclaim the nation’s work in the North Sea continues to gain, cannot be understated.
Although many may look to the East coast of the UK to observe the renewable powerhouse being developed in the North Sea, another market is beginning to mature to the West in the Celtic Sea.
Various developers have registered interest in courting the Celtic Sea opportunity. One such company is the Norwegian state-owned oil and gas giant Equinor, which has greatly influenced the UK wind sector and expressed interest in developing a gigawatt-scale floating offshore wind project in November 2022.
Alongside Equinor, RWE has also expressed interest in developing commercial-scale floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea, with the company calling the UK a “core market”, something that could see developments on the West Coast sooner rather than later.