A new industry partnership is set to support the UK’s floating wind industry by identifying offshore storage areas for wind turbines awaiting installation in the Celtic Sea.
The TS-Flow JIP, led by Offshore Solutions Group and delivered in partnership with HR Wallingford, will keep supply chains moving by freeing up space on quaysides and inner-harbours for assembling turbines, say the partners.
Five areas in the Celtic Sea have recently been released for floating wind farm developments in a bid to reach the UK government’s target of generating up to 5GW of floating wind by 2030.
They say this will have major impacts on infrastructure in the region, and it is vital that ports are optimised to provide local delivery for the construction, assembly, and installation of new wind farms. How and where to store turbines that have already been assembled is key to this effort.
The TS-Flow JIP brings together developers, port authorities, installers and other parties working in the Celtic Sea for the first time. The first phase of the initiative will be a technical assessment and will identify potential locations, an outline of the required permitting framework, technical constraints, and practical considerations. Subsequent phases will explore how to transform potential sites into usable locations.
Commenting on the launch of the TS-Flow JIP, Will Rowley, group CEO at Offshore Solutions Group noted: “This joint industry partnership is recognition of the need for advanced planning and technical solutions by the floating wind industry to support large-scale local delivery of floating wind solutions. We welcome the support of the developers and partners involved and the positive recognition of this initiative received from regulators and the UK government.”
Mike Case, business development manager for clean energy at HR Wallingford, said: “Keeping operations moving is a critical issue for the floating wind industry, and the team at HR Wallingford is excited to apply our site selection expertise to the challenge.”