A new offshore wind project off the coast of North Wales will
help deliver growth and good jobs to the region Welsh Secretary
has said.
The Awel y Môr project, which is being developed in the Irish Sea
off the North Wales coast, was one of the projects to win a
contract with the UK Government on 14 January.
Secretary of State for Wales was in the Port of Mostyn last week (22 January) to
meet project developers RWE and hear their ambitious plans for
the Awel y Môr site.
Once fully constructed, the project will see up to 50 turbines
built around 10km off the coast, west of the current Gwynt y
Môr site.
Secretary of State for Wales said:
The development of the Awel y Môr project is huge news for North
Wales and will deliver more
well-paid, highly-skilled jobs and growth to the local
area.
The UK Government is working with investors to develop home-grown
clean power which will secure our energy supply and bring
down bills for good.
Wales is at the centre of this and projects like Awel y Môr will
help us achieve those goals.
RWE's Project Lead for Awel y Môr, Philippa Powell, said:
Following our success in the most recent CfD auction round, it
was a pleasure to be able to update the Secretary of State for
Wales on our plans for Awel y Môr for the coming year, as we work
towards a final investment decision.
Capable of powering more than half the homes in Wales once fully
realised, Awel y Môr represents a key part in RWE's commitment to
investing in renewable energy here in Wales, alongside the
Pembroke Net Zero Centre, and our onshore wind and solar
projects.
The recent auction results will deliver the biggest single
procurement of offshore wind energy in British and European
history and were a major vote of confidence in the UK's new era
of energy sovereignty.
It secured a record capacity of 8.4GW of offshore wind which will
generate enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of 12
million homes and puts Britain on track to achieve its clean
power mission by 2030.
The auction will unlock around £22 billion in private investment,
supporting around 7,000 jobs, bringing growth and good jobs to
all areas of the UK, including Wales.
As well as Awel y Môr, the Erebus project in the Celtic Sea off
Pembrokeshire was also successful in the auction.
