Several Cornish companies are set to share nearly £5m of funding for supply chain projects in the offshore wind sector. The money has been awarded to 13 companies across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ from the initial round of the Crown Estate’s £50m Supply Chain Accelerator.
Projects selected include those supporting the skills transition, floating platforms, anchoring and mooring systems, test facilities, and operations and maintenance facilities.
Among the firms in the Duchy to receive cash include Falmouth-based Tugdock, which was founded in Cornwall in 2017 and has patented modular floating drydock technology, and Redruth-based subsea engineering company Tardra.
The first funding round opened in June this year for º£½ÇÊÓƵ projects that could support floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.
In early 2024, the Crown Estate published the Celtic Sea Blueprint which predicted that 5,300 jobs and a £1.4bn economic boost could be generated through deploying the first floating offshore wind capacity, resulting from the current Leasing Round 5 process, in the waters off South Wales and South West England.
The research highlighted a number of opportunities for supply chain development essential for the deployment of these floating wind farms. Successful projects were selected based on a number of criteria, one of which was their ability to deliver on the requirements of the Celtic Sea Blueprint.
Ben Brinded, head of investment at The Crown Estate, said: “This is a significant moment for The Crown Estate as our first direct investment into the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s offshore wind supply chain, and I would like to congratulate the 13 organisations on their success.
“As outlined by the government’s emerging Industrial Strategy, in order for the º£½ÇÊÓƵ to realise the economic benefits from the clean energy sector - and from offshore wind in particular - it is vital that there are mature, investable propositions which crowd in investments from both public and private capital."
Energy minister Michael Shanks said: “Our clean power mission brings with it huge potential to expand our supply chains, creating skilled jobs and growth across the country."
The Crown Estate has earmarked a further £45m for future rounds that could potentially be deployed to support further projects around the º£½ÇÊÓƵ that meet the opportunities identified by the Industrial Growth Plan for the offshore wind sector.
Juergen Maier, chair of Great British Energy, added: "Creating good manufacturing jobs is at the heart of our plans to expand the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s clean power production - and this investment will help to do just that."
