The proposed 1GW Gwynt Glas Offshore Wind Farm has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Associated British Ports and the Port of Milford Haven to prepare the region for floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea.
Gwynt Glas is a joint venture partnership between EDF Renewables UK and DP Energy and is a proposed floating offshore wind farm that could generate 1GW of low carbon green energy.
Via the MoU, information and industry knowledge will be shared to investigate potential opportunities for the manufacturing, assembly, load-out and servicing for the project. This will be across the key South Wales ports of Port Talbot and Milford Haven.
“This MoU is an excellent opportunity for our industries to learn from one another as we develop our plans for Gwynt Glas,” said Claire Gilchrist, offshore development manager at EDF Renewables.
“We need to understand the current level and type of infrastructure that is available at the ports to accurately reflect the opportunities and challenges to be faced, to enable the successful delivery of floating offshore wind at scale.”
Interest continues to grow in developing offshore wind farms in the Celtic Sea. Earlier this week, Equinor expressed an interest in developing a gigawatt-scale floating offshore wind farm stating this was to increase its renewable energy generation portfolio.
The development of offshore wind situated in the Celtic Sea will be of interest to Regen, which recently penned a report highlighting the untapped potential that the west coast has in comparison to the east.
The Go West! study showed that development of west coast wind farms could reduce the volatility of energy generation, which would provide additional benefits for system operation.
Alongside this, it could also level up infrastructure and communities that are situated adjacent to the Celtic Sea and north and west Scotland. It could also improve the functionality of the UK’s energy system.
“ABP’s port facilities at Port Talbot are at the heart of realising Wales’ ambitious vision for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea and the new manufacturing industry that this will deliver for Wales,” said Andrew Harston, ABP regional director of Wales and Short Sea Ports.
“We are delighted to be working with EDF Renewables UK, DP Energy and the Port of Milford Haven on the Gwynt Glas project, which is such a vital part of the UK’s progress to net zero.”