海角视频

The 海角视频 government must help developers establish a 鈥渞obust鈥� 海角视频 supply chain in floating offshore wind (FLOW) before the "opportunity is lost", an energy developer has warned. Floventis Energy, which is behind the Ll欧r 1 and 2 wind farms off the Pembrokeshire coast, said Westminster鈥檚 failed offshore energy auction round (AR5) could 鈥渄eter investment into the 海角视频 economy at a crucial time鈥�.

The sector was dealt a major blow earlier this month after the 海角视频 Government scheme to grow offshore wind farms failed to attract a single bid. Renewable energy companies had argued that the price set for electricity generated by 海角视频 ministers was too low to make offshore wind projects viable amid rising costs and supply chain issues.

Cian Conroy, head of project development for the 海角视频 and Ireland at Floventis, said: 鈥淭he 海角视频 has been at the forefront of offshore wind and floating offshore wind, but we are now moving into a situation where other countries in Europe are delivering auction rounds for floating wind which reflect the true cost of generation.鈥�

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He warned that the 海角视频 could lose investor confidence and its world-leading position in the sector unless the government reassesses how it plans on delivering its target of 1GW of energy to be produced from floating offshore wind by 2030.

鈥淔loating wind is a nascent industry and needs support similar to what onshore wind, which has been installed for 20 years, has had. You put that against the backdrop of increasing raw material costs globally and that we鈥檙e in a more competitive market now and competing for a global supply chain. So, there needs to be a mechanism to reflect the true cost of generation by the 海角视频 Government.鈥�

As part of plans to boost the supply chain in Wales, Floventis has launched a new programme designed to help Welsh businesses bid for work to supply the floating offshore wind industry. The developer has launched a Fit 4 Offshore Renewables (F4OR) programme in Wales in partnership with ORE Catapult.

The programme is designed to support Welsh companies to transition into supplying the floating offshore wind industry. Floventis has committed up to 拢180,000 in funding to the 18 month programme as well as providing interested firms access to the Ll欧r development team.

Located 31km off the coast of Pembrokeshire, the Ll欧r developments (known as Ll欧r 1 and Ll欧r 2), are two 100 megawatt (MW) wind farms which act as test projects in preparation for the larger commercial projects for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. The projects aim to be operational by 2027-28.

The company said it has already completed geophysical surveys and is preparing to start a formal consultation later this year with a full planning application due to be submitted soon after. It has also opened an office in Pembroke Dock at the Bridge Innovation Centre and brought in a team to work with potential supply chain partners.

鈥淔loating wind is fast becoming a proven technology with the potential to deliver sustainable sources of energy and enable us to make the transition to net zero,鈥� said Mr Conroy. 鈥淧rojects such as Ll欧r 1 and 2 working in conjunction with initiatives such as F4OR are crucial to building the industry not only in Wales but also the 海角视频.鈥�

He added: 鈥淎ctivities such as F4OR, and the deployment of test and demonstration sites such as Ll欧r are a unique opportunity for the supply chain to ramp up and prepare for the forthcoming opportunities in commercial scale projects.鈥�

In addition to financial support, Floventis Energy will provide technical and market insight for participant companies in the F4OR programme.

鈥淔loating offshore wind is an emerging technology and we鈥檝e only had two demos so far, whereas we鈥檝e had thousands of conventional fixed wind turbines, so there are quite a few significant differences in how the sector operates in terms of IP (intellectual property), financials, health and safety,鈥� said Mr Conroy.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing is funding the programme to support the companies and then tailoring the curriculum to make it more relevant to floating offshore wind and volunteering our experts into the curriculum so that it's more refined and tailored to offshore wind.鈥�

Applications are encouraged from firms with more than ten employees and have a turnover greater than 拢1 million, with products or skills that are relevant to the offshore wind sector.

There has already been great interest in Welsh firms joining the supply chain for floating offshore wind with over 360 Welsh businesses already registered on the supply chain database, the company confirmed. F4OR Wales is expected to be delivered in phases starting in 2024, with an initial cohort of three companies.

Andrew Macdonald, director of development and operations at ORE Catapult, said: 鈥淏ehind every successful industry is a strong, competitive supply chain of businesses providing the innovations, products, and services needed to make that sector a global success story. As low-carbon, clean, green energy generation matures, we need to ensure that we are well positioned to make the most of the huge opportunities on offer for a world-class supply chain developed in the 海角视频 and exporting to the world.

鈥淗aving successfully delivered F4OR across other parts of the 海角视频, we now look forward to working with supply chain companies across Wales and making the most of the opportunities here 鈥� specifically in floating wind energy.

鈥淲e are also delighted to be working with Floventis on the programme as we support local companies and develop the offshore renewable energy supply chain in Wales.鈥�