A Welsh renewable energy project is bidding to place floating offshore wind turbines in the Celtic Sea, and is proposing to invest a share of the profits in a wealth fund for Wales.
The floating offshore wind project is a joint venture between Hiraeth Energy, based in Pembrokeshire, and Norwegian energy specialist Magnora Offshore Wind.
This collaboration will see the development of floating wind projects off the Pembrokeshire coast, with the initial project, Môr Glas, being at around 1GW in scale.
A share of the total profits would be put into a wealth fund that would support further innovation in the energy sector in Wales. The fund would also support communities in the coming transition to low carbon energy.
The projects will also aim for as much Welsh ownership as possible to allow institutions, including public and private bodies in Wales, along with Welsh pension investors, to have a stake in projects within Welsh waters.
Joseph Kidd, Hiraeth Energy Partner said:
“Our projects have been set up to deliver the bold vision of Hiraeth Energy and Magnora Offshore Wind; we want to see as much as possible of the wealth generated from Wales to stay in Wales.”
“We think that Welsh households, organisations and pension funds should have the chance to invest in homegrown projects, generating revenues with assets that are owned by our own institutions.”
Trond Gartner, Magnora Offshore Wind Business Development Manager said:
“The new round of floating offshore wind projects that will be developed in the Celtic Sea provides a once in a generation opportunity for people in Wales to benefit directly from the renewable energy resources off the Welsh coast.”
Sonya Bedford, Hiraeth Energy Partner said:
“Our ambition is to create a fund for Wales that can help build energy resilience and prosperity in Welsh communities, and help us contribute to the challenge of achieving Net Zero by 2050. This will build a legacy for future generations; a fund that can be contributed to by all offshore projects, whoever owns them, and whatever part of the Welsh coast they occupy.”
The UK government has set a target of 50GW of installed offshore wind energy by 2030, with the Celtic Sea area able to contribute at least 4GW of floating wind capacity before 2035.
Notes
Magnora Offshore Wind is a development company focusing on floating offshore wind, backed by its owners Magnora and Technip FMC. As a Norwegian business Magnora understands and is very supportive of the aims of Môr Glas Wind. Magnora Offshore Wind has been successful in its bid for a licence in the Scotwind leasing round and is now developing the 495MW floating offshore wind project “Talisk” in Scotland.
Hiraeth Energy is a Welsh offshore wind development company committed to maintaining as much ownership of energy projects within Wales as possible. The company has an extremely capable team with many decades of development experience between the members.
The development of a wealth fund for Wales is inspired by the fossil fuel funds of Norway, Qatar and other oil-rich countries, but will use returns from offshore renewables instead. Norway has developed a £1tn fund from oil and gas revenues. The Norwegian fund generates a return of nearly 6% annually for the people of Norway.
We’ve created a video to help spell out how our vision could help shape the prosperity of Wales. We welcome your thoughts as we develop our thinking and continue our journey towards a clean, zero-carbon and socially responsible future.