Floventis taps Kent to engineer pioneering Celtic Sea 'stepping stone' floating wind arrays
Contractor lands lead-off deals for Cierco-SBM's 200MW Llŷr projects off Wales, as UK deepwater play gains momentum following consent of Erebus flagship
Energy contractor Kent has landed an owner’s engineer contract from Cierco-SBM joint venture (JV) Floventis for the developers’ Llŷr 1 and 2 floating wind pilots in the Celtic Sea, in the latest sign of progress in the highly prospective UK play.
The deal for the pair of 100MW ‘stepping-stone’ demonstrators, to be built around 6-8 turbines atop SBM tension leg platforms moored in 60-70 metres of water, are foreseen starting to produce power 40km off the coast of Wales in 2027.
“The Llŷr wind farms are significant stepping-stone projects for the floating wind sector – these two projects are crucial as we move towards commercial scale floating projects across the UK and beyond,” said David Keenlyside, Floventis’ engineering director.
“As part of our commitment to delivering local economic and social value, we are working with our global network of partners to demonstrate new technology, advance the UK’s energy security and importantly create new opportunities for the local supply chain.”
Cerianne Cummings, Kent’s offshore wind market director, said Kent was “the ideal company to provide the expertise required on this project”.
“We continually strive to push the boundaries of water depth, seabed type, standardisation, optimisation and asset management. This project is paving the way toward the commercialisation of floating wind,” she said.
Kent is partnering with Vekta on a scope of engineer support contract that encompasses the project’s so-called clean development mechanism – a United Nations-run carbon offset scheme allowing countries to fund greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects, the floating wind units’ turbines, hulls and mooring spreads, as well as site layout, geotechnical, metocean work.