The Welsh government has consented to the country’s first floating offshore wind farm 40 kilometres off the coast of Pembrokeshire. Project Erebus will feature seven 14 MW next-generation turbines mounted on floating platforms. Thus, it will offer enough clean energy to run 93,000 homes. Erebus is part of the first phase of a 4 GW renewable energy development in the Celtic Sea, with enough power for 4 million homes.
The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, said, “We are ambitious for the floating offshore wind sector in Wales. It has the potential to deliver sustainable sources of energy into the future. Furthermore, it is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to open up new markets for local suppliers. As a result, it will create thousands of high-quality jobs in Wales.
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Erebus floating offshore wind farm
The Government estimates that an additional 20 GW of renewable energy could be produced during later phases of the development. In February 2023, Blue Gem Wind, a partnership between TotalEnergies and Simply Blue Group, obtained a marine licence for the floating wind project. The Welsh government and its partners in Natural Resources Wales “have enabled this project to apply for subsidy support from the UK Government in determining the marine licence and the planning consents,” the First Minister said.
Blue Gem Wind was founded in March 2020 by TotalEnergies and Simply Blue Group. They aimed to create floating offshore wind projects in the Celtic Sea off the coast of Wales. Soon after, the partnership obtained seabed rights to build Wales’ first floating offshore wind farm, the 96 MW Erebus project. Furthermore, Blu Gem Wind is carrying out the second floating wind project in the Celtic Sea. The Valorous project is situated about 50 kilometres southwest of the Pembrokeshire coastline.
