Offshore floating wind farms to power millions of homes, minister says
Turbines up to 300m tall will sit on platforms floating off the coast of Wales, powering some four million homes under plans revealed on Thursday.
The project, which is jointly run by the Crown Estate, Equinor and Gwynt Glas, is expected to be completed by the mid-2030s, with several wind farms to be constructed.
The turbines are expected to be assembled in Bristol and Port Talbot, from where they will be towed out to the final project sites.
Jo Stevens, the Secretary of State for Wales, said the announcement was 'great news' for the country, and could create some 5,300 new jobs.
Speaking to the PA news agency on a visit to Port Talbot, she said: 'These are going to be the biggest offshore floating wind farms in the world, and they're going to be off the coast of Wales.
'It is going to create thousands of jobs, power four million homes and bring down energy bills.
'This is really, really good news for Wales, and especially for young people and people wanting apprenticeships, because there are guarantees within the process that there will be specific apprenticeships and jobs for young people.'
The minister's visit also follows the announcement of funding for the redevelopment of the port in Port Talbot as part of the spending review last week.
The Crown Estate – which manages the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland – is making a £400 million investment in the UK's offshore wind supply chain.
While profits from the Crown Estate go to the Treasury, it is owned by the monarch and run independently.
The Crown Estate owns the seabed out to 12 nautical miles and around 65% of the Welsh foreshore and riverbed.
Management of Crown Estate assets has been a controversial issue in Wales, with Welsh Labour calling for management to be devolved as it has in Scotland.
Labour in Westminster has refused to allow the Welsh Government to take control.
Ms Stevens said Thursday's announcement 'vindicated' the UK Government's position.
She said: 'Today's announcement is a real vote of confidence in floating offshore wind as a new technology and industry.
'This will be the biggest floating off in the world.
'In order to deliver that and deliver those thousands of jobs and the billions of pounds of investment, you have to have certainty, and investors need to know that the situation is certain.'
Asked if Scotland would not be able to get a similar scheme, she said it would 'put it at risk.'
'There is a significant risk, if you bring uncertainty into the process, that developers and investors will go elsewhere.'
She insisted it was not a question of whether the Welsh Government could be trusted with the Crown Estate.
Llinos Medi, Plaid Cymru's energy spokesperson in Westminster, pushed back against Ms Stevens, arguing Scotland is developing 19 offshore wind projects under the devolved Scottish Crown Estate.
'Until we devolve the Crown Estate, the process of extracting wealth from Wales's natural resources will continue,' Ms Medi said.
'The Labour First Minister of Wales made a big pitch that she would not let Westminster 'take our wind'.
'It's clear that those efforts have not been effective, as the fees and profits from this announcement will be given to the Treasury in Whitehall rather than being retained for the Welsh public purse for the benefit of our communities.'
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said floating offshore wind will be 'transformative' for economic growth in Wales and the south west of England.
He said: 'The Celtic Sea has huge untapped potential to support our mission to become a clean energy superpower, so we can get energy bills down for good.'
Speaking to PA, Eluned Morgan, the First Minister of Wales, said it was a 'really significant announcement', branding it the birth of a new global industry.
'This is a brand new approach to energy, it's cutting-edge technology,' she said.
'People are going to have to work out how effective this is, how do you do it properly.
'I have been speaking to a lot of these energy companies and a lot of supply chains to say 'base yourself in Wales'.'
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