New Floating Wind Farm Will Power 4 million Homes And Create Jobs

July 2022 saw the Crown Estate bringing good news to the offshore power generation industry. It will be leasing space off the Welsh and Cornish coastlines to create new floating wind farms. Not only will this move generate sufficient energy to power 4 million homes by 2035, but it will also create around 29,000 new jobs, bringing an impressive boost to the economy.

This news has been welcomed by proponents of renewable energies as well as by companies operating within the offshore sector that are keen to take advantage of the new opportunity.

This new opportunity demonstrates exciting progress in the offshore energy sector since up until now, the majority of the UK’s offshore wind farms have been fixed into the seabed. This new floating project will be able to take advantage of the higher winds found in deeper waters which will allow maximum power to be generated.

The new turbines will be fixed onto steel and concrete structures that will be assembled on the portside before being towed out into the sea off the Pembrokeshire and Cornish coasts. These platforms will be anchored into the seabed with cables or flexible anchors, so that they sit just below or above the waterline. With tenders being issued in mid-2023, the floating wind farm has the potential to inject over £43 billion into the UK’s economy within 27 years.

One of the biggest problems with any wind farm is opposition from onshore businesses and local residence who complain that the turbines make the area look unattractive. This new floating project will eliminate this issue since the windfarms will be invisible from the land due to their ability to be located in the deeper water offshore.

Another benefit of this is that the structures will be less likely to disrupt naval bases and birds’ nesting grounds, and will cause less conflict with the local fishing fleets that fish for lobsters and crabs in the surrounding areas.

Not only has the Crown Estate decided to lease the lend in the Celtic Sea area, but it as has awarded licences for another 6 offshore wind farms off the Welsh and English coastline with the potential to generate as much as £9 billion within a decade. Already, the UK has Europe’s biggest offshore wind deployment, and now, the new floating technology will hold the key to being able to unlock the coastline’s true energy generating potential.

Sea space was auctioned by the Crown Estate in Scotland to 17 different projects, and most of that capacity was earmarked for more offshore wind turbines. In fact, the Scottish coastline has been home to a floating offshore wind farm since 2017, so the new projects will only be adding to the Northern UK’s potential to boost its renewable energy production while bringing much-needed new jobs to those within the sector.