Early consultation begins on Gwynt Glas floating wind Celtic Sea project

Early consultation is underway with the commercial fisheries sector as the team at Gwynt Glas reveal details of the location of their 1,500 square km site search area in the Celtic Sea.  

Gwynt Glas, a joint venture announced in January between EDF Renewables UK and Pembrokeshire based DP Energy, will be capable of generating up to 1GW of low carbon green energy in the Celtic Sea. 

The Crown Estate intends to run a competitive leasing round to award seabed rights to developers for floating offshore wind (FLOW) projects in the Celtic Sea, targeting an overall regional capacity of 4GW.

The Gwynt Glas wider site search area* is 70km off the coast of Pembrokeshire and 45km from the North Cornwall coast, spanning both Welsh and English waters. The project team will now consult with stakeholders to begin the process of refining the area for its proposed floating offshore wind farm ahead of preparing an application to lease the seabed later next year.

Nancy McLean, Gwynt Glas Project Director said: “In announcing the site search area at this stage we are keen to get an early understanding of the current level and type of fishing activity in the area. We are inviting those involved in fisheries to respond to our consultation and to meet us to discuss the opportunities and potential challenges.”

Beyond fisheries, a wide range of factors will also be considered as part of the site selection process, including water depth, wind resource, proximity to nature conservation designations, seabirds and marine mammals, shipping and distance from ports.

Remote aerial surveys for marine mammal and birds have been carried out over the last 12 months, and following wider consultation with all stakeholders, the floating offshore wind farm site will be refined and finalised to a much smaller area suitable to accommodate up to 1 GW of floating wind platforms.

Gwynt Glas will provide power for approximately 920,000 homes** and make a significant contribution to The Crown Estate’s ambitions for 4GW of capacity in the Celtic Sea. 

Notes to editors:

*Map attached
** 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).

Those wishing to respond to the consultation or meet with the Gwynt Glas team should email Gwynt.Glas.FLO@naturalpower.com.

About EDF Renewables:
EDF Renewables UK and Ireland 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 3 renewable energy sites including battery, onshore and offshore wind (together totalling 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:
Chris Williams - 07968 583993
Head of Development UK and New Markets  
DP Energy
chris.williams@dpenergy.com
 

Lindsey Southworth – 07813 230 379
Head of External Affairs
EDF Renewables UK
Lindsey.southworth@edf-re.uk