Rights to third floating wind farm off North Devon awarded to European company

Rights to a third floating commercial wind farm site in the Celtic Sea west of Lundy Island have been awarded to a joint venture between Spanish/Portuguese and French companies.

The Crown Estate announced today (Wednesday, November 19) it had appointed ‘leading global developer’ Ocean Winds to create the 1.5 gigawatt platform some 30-plus miles off the coast.

Two adjacent sites have already been awarded to Equinor and Gwynt Glas, with the Crown Estate saying the three sites will help ensure the full potential capacity of 4.5GW of energy.

It says this would be enough to power four million homes and could lead to the creation of more than 5,000 jobs and deliver a £1.4billion boost to the UK economy.

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Today’s news follows the Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 auction in June, which awarded rights for two of three sites for new floating wind farms to Equinor and Gwynt Glas, who both entered into agreements for lease for their respective floating wind farm projects in October. 

Latest appointee Ocean Winds is a 50-50 venture between EDP Renewables - which has its headquarters in Madrid but whose parent company is Portuguese utility company EDPR – and France-based ENGIE.

Ocean Winds delivered the world’s first semi-submersible floating wind farm, WindFloat Atlantic, in Portugal in 2020 and has UK locations including Moray East and Moray West.

The government’s energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “Securing a third floating offshore wind site in the Celtic Sea not only strengthens the UK’s position as a global leader in this emerging technology, but also further unlocks the region’s vast potential to deliver our clean power mission and bring down energy bills for good.

“Floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea will drive growth across Wales and the South West, create thousands of skilled jobs in places like Port Talbot and Bristol, bolster our energy security, and power industrial renewal.”

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Dan Labbad, chief executive of The Crown Estate, said: “I’m incredibly proud that we have delivered on the commitment we made to secure a developer for the third site in the Celtic Sea and we’re delighted that Ocean Winds will join other world-leading companies to invest in the UK and help establish this pioneering new technology for the long-term benefit of the country.”

Craig Windram, CEO of Ocean Winds said the company was proud to be selected for the development rights.

He added: “With over a decade of experience pioneering floating wind technology and a proven ability to deliver fixed bottom projects at pace, we are confident in our capabilities to deliver this commercial scale floating project.

“The project will bring substantial benefits to the UK and play a vital role in the energy transition.”

Ocean Winds and the Crown Estate will now work towards finalising an Agreement for Lease, which is expected to be completed by spring.