Wind

Welsh floating wind power party grows as Hiraeth and Magnora join top table

Developers tie-up to build up-to-700MW Môr Glas and Môr Gwyrdd deepwater projects as Celtic Sea play gathers momentum

Welsh renewables developer Hiraeth Energy has inked a deal with Norway’s Magnora Offshore Wind (MOW) to jointly build floating wind power projects in the Celtic Sea, the latest in a growing number of tie-ups looking to capitalise on the UK’s efforts to underpin development of an offshore play targeted for some 4GW of plant in the coming decades.

The ‘heads of terms’ agreement between the pair clears the way for their planned construction of the Môr Glas and Môr Gwyrdd projects, which together could represent 700MW of power production.

“The climate and nature emergencies demand urgent action from governments, regulators, developers and investors,” said Joseph Kidd, partner at Hiraeth Energy.

“We will develop our projects according to best practice in sustainability, and we will work closely with stakeholders to ensure that we maximise the benefits of our projects for nature and to the people of Wales.”

MOW managing director Kristin Gjertsen stated: “We are progressing the expansion of our pipeline of offshore wind projects, and act on opportunities with strong, committed and competent partners.

“Together with Hiraeth Energy we believe that we represent a progressive approach to the development of offshore wind projects, creating long-term value in all project phases.”

In a statement, Hiraeth and MOW – a joint venture between Magnora ASA and contractor TechnipFMC – said they believed their plans for the Môr Glas and Môr Gwyrdd projects “present a progressive innovative approach to the development of offshore wind projects, which will have a more beneficial impact on coastal communities and for Wales generally”.

A 10% tranche of the project has been ring-fenced for community ownership.

“This investment from Magnora will help Wales in its ambition to create a zero-carbon economy, while clearly demonstrating the benefits of local ownership for the people of Wales,” added Kidd.

The UK has a target of 40GW of offshore wind by 2030, with at least 1GW coming from floating project – with the latter capacity broadly seen as far short of the necessary build-out, given the government-advising Climate Change Committee forecasting some 100GW would have to be online by 2050 to meet the country's net zero.
The Celtic Sea, a vast deepwater play situated between Ireland, England and Wales calculated to represent a vast technical energy resource, is increasingly perceived to be key to this more ambitious goal, with a range of major projects now gathering momentum, including giga-scale developments such as the Shell-Simply Blue 1GW Emerald off the south coast of Ireland, and, most recently announced, EDF and Irish developer DP Energy’s 1GW Gwynt Glas off Wales.
Floating wind power’s global build-out this decade has been forecast by the Global Wind Energy Council to reach over 16GW – a figure given a boost last week with the award of offshore wind leases by the Scottish government in North Sea deep-water – though some analysts remain concerned outdated current government policy frameworks have the potential of limiting the sector to deploying as little as 5GW by 2030.
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Published 26 January 2022, 13:38Updated 17 October 2023, 16:50
WalesCeltic SeaMagnoraUKEurope