EDF Renewables-DP Energy JV to Build 1 GW Floating Wind Project in UK

EDF Renewables UK has created a joint venture with project developer DP Energy to generate up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind power from floating turbines in the Celtic Sea, it said on Wednesday.

The floating offshore wind project, ‘Gwynt Glas’, will likely span English and Welsh waters south of Ireland. The partners have identified an area of interest encompassing some 1,500 square kilometres, approximately 70 kilometres from shore, they said.

No financial details of the agreement were disclosed. The wind farm could create enough electricity to provide power for some 927,400 homes.

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It could also contribute a significant part to ambitions for 4 GW of capacity in the Celtic Sea announced last year by the Crown Estate, which manages the seabed and half the foreshore around England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The leasing process could see rights awarded by the end of 2023, with projects delivered from 2030 into the early part of the next decade, the Crown Estate said at the time.

Floating wind farms are an emerging technology with far higher costs than projects fixed to the seabed, but costs are expected to fall as more projects are brought online.

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Britain is also offering funding for developing the technology to help meet its target of generating 40 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from offshore wind by 2030, up from around 10 GW currently.

EDF Renewables UK Head of Offshore Wind Scott Sutherland said “This is a great start to 2022 for us and we are very pleased to announce this partnership with DP Energy. We firmly believe Gwynt Glas will be a catalyst for further supply chain growth across the UK which is something we as a company are very supportive of.

“We will use our experience in offshore wind to help bring opportunities for local, regional and national companies on this project and on others, such our Blyth floating project and the two we are bidding for in the ScotWind process”.