Gwynt Glas Offshore Wind Farm has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UK’s largest port operator, Associated British Ports, and Wales’ largest energy port, the Port of Milford Haven, to ready the ports for the future needs of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.
Gwynt Glas is a joint venture partnership between EDF Renewables UK and DP Energy. The proposed floating offshore wind farm would generate 1GW of low carbon green energy in the Celtic Sea.
Under the MoU, information and industry knowledge will be shared to investigate the potential opportunities for manufacture, assembly, load-out and servicing for the Gwynt Glas project from the key South Wales Ports of Port Talbot and Milford Haven. This collaborative approach demonstrates a major commitment to supporting economic growth, investment and maximising social value in the region.
Claire Gilchrist, EDF Renewables’ Offshore Development Manager said:
“This MoU is an excellent opportunity for our industries to learn from one another as we develop our plans for Gwynt Glas. 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.”
Andrew Harston, ABP Regional Director, Wales and Short Sea Ports, said:
“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.
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.”
Steven Edwards, the Port of Milford Haven’s Commercial Director added:
“We are very proud to be working with EDF Renewables UK and DP Energy to support the Gwynt Glas proposal for low carbon energy. We are embracing opportunities for the benefit of the Pembrokeshire economy, and the goal to achieve net zero.
Working collaboratively is crucial to supporting these ambitions in Wales, and the Milford Haven Waterway has the opportunity to play a pivotal role in this.”
Chris Williams, DP Energy’s Head of Development UK said:
“As Wales transitions to net zero, we are committed to working with local industry and keen to maximise local benefits. Floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea will not only generate renewable energy, support our energy security but also protect jobs and create new ones.
These MoU’s with the Port of Milford Haven and ABP Port Talbot demonstrate our intention to focus on a local supply chain and support long-term skilled local jobs in coastal regions.”
Gwynt Glas will provide power for approximately 927,400 homes* and make a significant contribution to The Crown Estate’s ambitions for 4GW of capacity in the Celtic Sea.
Notes to editors:
* Load factors based on the five year rolling averages on unchanged configuration basis using Table 6.5 of ‘Digest of UK Energy Statistics’ – latest figures as per July 2019 release. Based upon the average domestic electricity consumption per home (temperature corrected) per the Energy Consumption in the UK (published July 2019, Table C9 of ECUK: Consumption data tables).
About EDF Renewables:
EDF Renewables UK and Ireland (www.edf-re.uk) is a subsidiary of EDF Group’s, one of the world’s largest low carbon electricity companies, and our investment and innovation is reducing costs for consumers and bringing significant benefits for communities.
With our operating portfolio of 37 renewable energy sites including battery, onshore and offshore wind (together totalling more than 1 GW) we are providing much needed affordable, low carbon electricity. We have an expanding portfolio with almost 5 GW of projects in planning and development, including wind, battery and solar PV.
About DP Energy:
DP Energy has a long history of renewable project development and is a global developer of wind, solar and ocean energy projects across the UK, Ireland, Australia and North America.
To date DP has delivered multiple constructed renewable energy projects totalling over 700MW across the countries in which it operates. It has a further 400MW consented and proceeding to the ‘ready to build’ phase and a development pipeline of some 2GW of onshore wind and 3GW+ offshore wind.
Whilst headquartered in Ireland, DP Energy has operated extensively in the UK since the 1990s and early 2000s to deliver large scale onshore wind projects principally across Scotland, including Hadyard Hill wind farm which at 130MW was one of the largest projects of its day.
As part of its overall expansion plans DP Energy has now opened a UK South Wales office staffed by an experienced development team and this team, in addition to delivering the Gwynt Glas Offshore Wind farm will be developing a portfolio of 100% sustainable energy projects in the UK across the renewable technology range.
Contact:
Ffion Davies – 0131 3770045
External Affairs Manager for Wales
EDF Renewables UK
