bp and Energie Baden-W眉rttemberg AG (EnBW) have confirmed the names of their planned offshore wind projects in the Irish Sea 鈥 Morgan and Mona 鈥 and launched a dedicated supplier portal for the developments.
When complete, Morgan and Mona, over 30km off the coast of North Wales and North West England, will have a combined potential generating capacity of 3GW, sufficient to power the equivalent of approximately 3.4 million homes.
The companies said it was important to find local supply chains for the project.
Richard Haydock, BP project director, added: 鈥淭hese leases will play a critical role in helping deliver the 海角视频 government鈥檚 aim of producing enough offshore wind to power every 海角视频 home, quadrupling the country鈥檚 generating capacity to 40GW by 2030.
"We think it鈥檚 incredibly important the local supply chain contributes to that, so have today launched a dedicated supplier portal where local companies can pair their skills with the projects鈥 needs.
鈥淭he portal provides access for companies of all sizes to register their interest for future work.鈥
The project is encouraging 海角视频-based suppliers, particularly those with connections across North Wales and North West England, to register their interest at www.enbw-bp.com/suppliers,
Talking about the names, Burkhard Roemhild, EnBW project director, added: 鈥淲e were inspired by the location of these two offshore wind developments and their connection to the region. Morgan means 鈥榮ea chief鈥 in Old Welsh, and Mona relates to Ynys M么n, the Welsh name for Anglesey.鈥
In February, EnBW and BP were jointly selected as preferred bidder for the two leases in the 海角视频 Offshore Wind Round 4, the first such 海角视频 leasing round since 2010.
This marked BP鈥檚 entry into the 海角视频鈥檚 offshore wind power sector. EnBW currently has onshore wind assets in Germany, France and Sweden and operates four offshore wind assets in the German Baltic Sea and North Sea.
Morgan and Mona were previously referred to as lease areas 1 and 2, or Yellow North and Yellow South. They are approximately 300sq km and 500sq km in size, respectively, are located around 30km from the coast, and in average water depths of around 35m.
The partnership initiated wildlife surveys earlier in 2021 and is currently undertaking survey work to characterise conditions of the lease areas including geologic conditions, benthic habitat, and presence of obstructions and sensitive resources that will be considered during development of the projects.
To help the development of Morgan and Mona coexist successfully with traditional maritime industries, the partnership is actively engaging with commercial fishermen and their representatives, gathering insights and feedback.
There are several key ferry transport routes for passengers and cargo across the Irish Sea and the partnership is establishing a maritime navigation forum to identify ways to minimise impact to shipping.
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