Pembokeshire politicians have welcomed the fact that Pembroke Port (Port of Milford Haven) has today (April 7) been named one of seven key UK locations in the running to support the next generation of floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea.
Plans for a new generation of floating wind farms off the coasts of Wales and South West England moved a step closer as the leasing round for three sites in the Celtic Sea entered its final stages.
The Crown Estate – which manages the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland –also revealed that, as part of the process, companies bidding to build the new wind farms shortlisted a range of potential locations in Wales and South West England for the assembly and deployment of the new turbines.
In February 2024, The Crown Estate embarked on a new leasing round for three areas of seabed off the coasts of Wales and South West England.
Known as Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5, the process is expected to award rights for three new floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea, capable of generating enough new renewable energy capacity to power more than four million homes (up to 4.5 gigawatts).
The leasing round follows more than three years of engagement with a range of stakeholders including UK and Welsh governments, industry, environmental bodies and other users of the seabed to identify the best locations for the new wind farms and inform the approach to the leasing round.
As part of the process, Bidders have submitted proposals for developing the new wind farms, alongside plans for creating new opportunities for jobs and economic regeneration and working with ports.
Evaluation of these proposals from the first stage of the tender (known as ITT Stage 1) has now concluded, with successful Bidders invited to progress to the final stage (ITT Stage 2). This will involve an auction for the three sites later in the Spring. Winning Bidders are then expected to sign Agreements for Lease this Summer.
The turbines could be as much as 300 metres tall, around the same height as The Shard in London, and sit on a floating platform similar in size to a football pitch.
Plans for a new generation of floating wind farms off the coasts of Wales and South West England moved a step closer as the leasing round for three sites in the Celtic Sea entered its final stages.
The Crown Estate – which manages the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland –also revealed that, as part of the process, companies bidding to build the new wind farms shortlisted a range of potential locations in Wales and South West England for the assembly and deployment of the new turbines.
In February 2024, The Crown Estate embarked on a new leasing round for three areas of seabed off the coasts of Wales and South West England.
Known as Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5, the process is expected to award rights for three new floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea, capable of generating enough new renewable energy capacity to power more than four million homes (up to 4.5 gigawatts).
The leasing round follows more than three years of engagement with a range of stakeholders including UK and Welsh governments, industry, environmental bodies and other users of the seabed to identify the best locations for the new wind farms and inform the approach to the leasing round.
As part of the process, Bidders have submitted proposals for developing the new wind farms, alongside plans for creating new opportunities for jobs and economic regeneration and working with ports.
Evaluation of these proposals from the first stage of the tender (known as ITT Stage 1) has now concluded, with successful Bidders invited to progress to the final stage (ITT Stage 2). This will involve an auction for the three sites later in the Spring. Winning Bidders are then expected to sign Agreements for Lease this Summer.
The turbines could be as much as 300 metres tall, around the same height as The Shard in London, and sit on a floating platform similar in size to a football pitch.
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NewsTranscript
00:00at Pembroke Port here, part of the Port of Milford Haven, learning about their future plans
00:04around investment, thanks to the Celtic Freeport. And the Celtic Freeport across the sites here
00:09on the Haven in Pembrokeshire and in Port Talbot could bring 11,000 new jobs to the area. But what
00:15we've also got here on the Haven is fantastic businesses that already exist, from RWE and
00:20Valero to Southwark LNG and Dragon LNG and every one of those supply chain businesses that support
00:26these big companies. This is a really vital part of our local economy and I'm always
00:31supportive of their efforts here on the Haven to drive investment, increase the amount of
00:36jobs available and bring prosperity back to this part of Pembrokeshire. So it's great to
00:40learn more about future plans and how I can help at the Celtic Day.