The Anonymous Widower

The Crown Estate Refines Plans For Celtic Sea Floating Wind

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Crown Estate.

This is the first part of the press release.

The Crown Estate has set out further details on its plans for Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5, which aims to establish new floating offshore wind technology off the coast of Wales and South West England. The update includes details on the final planned locations for the new windfarms, as well as further information on a multi-million-pound programme of marine surveys.

Round 5 is expected to be the first phase of development in the Celtic Sea, with The Crown Estate working to catalyse and accelerate the UK’s energy transition, and to de-risk developments to speed up their deployment. This includes investing in an upfront Habitats Regulation Assessment, an extensive programme of marine surveys and working with the Electricity System Operator on a coordinated approach to grid design.

This latest update follows a period of engagement with developers and wider stakeholders on proposals set out in July over how to make best use of available space in the Celtic Sea. As a result of the feedback received, The Crown Estate has confirmed that:

• Three Project Development Areas (PDAs) of roughly equal size are expected to be made available to bidders, as opposed to the previously proposed four PDAs of varying sizes
• No bidder will be able to secure an Agreement for Lease for more than one PDA
• As a result of bringing forward three equal-sized PDAs – each with a potential capacity of up to 1.5GW – the overall capacity available through Round 5 has increased from a possible 4GW to up to 4.5GW, enough to power more than 4 million homes

Note.

1. Another 4.5 GW of offshore wind should hit the queue.
2. It sounds like they have been listening to developers.

To find out more of the potential of the Celtic Sea, I recommend this article on the Engineer, which is entitled Unlocking The Renewables Potential Of The Celtic Sea.

I’ll go along with what this article says and accept that 50 GW of wind capacity could be installed in the Celtic Sea.

October 2, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Energy | Celtic Sea, Crown Estate, Floating Wind Power, Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5, Offshore Wind Power, Wales, Wind Power