Floating offshore wind could represent the single biggest
investment opportunity in Wales for decades, the Welsh Affairs
Committee argues today, but urgent clarity is needed by the UK
Government to turbocharge efforts.
The Crown Estate has said that there is scope for floating
offshore wind in the Celtic Sea to generate 20GW of energy by
being situated further offshore. If its full potential is
realised, the Committee argues that floating offshore wind farms
could create thousands of high-quality, long-term jobs and give
Wales the ‘first-mover’ advantage. However, developers and port
operators told the Committee that a lack of long-term targets and
a clear pipeline of projects to unlock investment are stifling
progress. The UK Government must urgently address this, and steps
must be taken to ensure consenting bodies are adequately staffed
and resourced to take on the anticipated increase in demand.
In October 2022, the Committee published its report considering
grid capacity, and argued that network constraints hold back
green energy projects in Wales. The setting of long-term targets
and a roadmap of delivery would also benefit National Grid ESO in
planning network upgrades.
Local supply chains in Wales must benefit from the manufacture
and installation of floating offshore wind, and their involvement
must be prioritised over international competitors. The Committee
argues that local supply chains did not benefit from the rollout
of conventional, fixed-bottom offshore wind as much as they could
have, with major fabrication and installation work undertaken
overseas. The Committee is determined that this is not repeated
as the potential for wealth and job creation in Wales is too
great an opportunity to miss.
While the Crown Estate requires developers to provide supply
chain investment plans as part of their bid for a lease, a
mechanism is needed to hold developers to account on delivery of
these plans. Similarly, the Committee is calling on the UK
Government to reform future Contracts for Difference auctions for
floating offshore wind to include enforceable local content
requirements.
Ultimately, the Committee believes the successful delivery of
floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea will require
coordination between the UK and Welsh governments, public bodies
and industry in a number of interdependent policy areas. Only
then can Wales capitalise on the enormous potential floating
offshore wind represents to the nation.
Welsh Affairs Committee Chair, Rt Hon , said:
“New floating offshore wind technology will open up the deep
waters of the Celtic Sea to the green energy
revolution. Larger turbines sited farther offshore than
traditional turbines will harness the stronger winds to deliver
greater power generation."
"Wales will have a key role in helping the UK to reach its target
of 5GW of floating offshore wind by 2030. Our Committee
was told that floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea could
bring £20 billion of direct investment into the domestic
market. Some of the world's largest energy companies are
already drawing up Celtic Sea investment plans.
"The challenge is to ensure that floating offshore wind
creates real long-term economic value for Wales. Ports like
Milford Haven and Port Talbot are ideally situated to become hubs
for manufacturing and operations, and firms like Tata Steel could
form part of a strong Welsh supply chain. Achieving this will
require a clear strategy from Government and the Crown Estate to
prioritise domestic content and ensure developers meet their
commitments.
"Floating offshore wind represents a once-in-a-generation
industrial opportunity for Wales - we cannot afford to let
this pass us by.”
Notes to editors:
- The Crown Estate’s ‘Areas of
Search’ for the development of floating offshore wind in the
Celtic Sea are estimated to deliver 4GW of energy by 2035, which
would provide power to almost four million homes and create an
estimated 29,000 jobs in the industry.
- The full list of conclusions and recommendations can be found
on page 28 of the report.
