The Celtic Sea is the next frontier in this space, offering some of the best floating wind potential in the world, with all the requisite ingredients necessary to build the capability to deploy and maintain this new technology at scale in a way that will flourish well into the next century.

Our plans to decarbonise our 2.2GW Pembroke Power Station and create a centre for green technology, Pembroke Net Zero Centre, that includes creation and use of green hydrogen, are collective benefits that will be accelerated from the advancement of RWE floating wind projects within the Celtic Sea.

In order to develop robust plans unlocking the unique benefits which floating wind can bring to the region, RWE is already working in partnership with some of the largest, local industrial leaders. Just some of our local and global partnerships of relevance to the Celtic Sea floating wind opportunity are listed below:

In early 2022, we detailed our intention to work with ABP Port Talbot and the Port of Milford Haven, to develop plans for new port infrastructure at Port Talbot and Pembroke Dock which would support a pipeline of floating offshore wind projects.

In summer of 2022, we entered a co-operation agreement with TATA Steel UK to understand and explore the production of steel components that could be used in floating wind foundations and structures for projects in the Celtic Sea.

In Autumn 2022, we commissioned Marine Power Systems (MPS) to undertake technical feasibility studies on a range of deployment scenarios of the MPS floating system utilising local ports and supply chain.

Partnerships and inter-industry collaboration will be at the heart of a successful floating wind industry within the Celtic Sea and RWE is working with all sectors to ensure that opportunities are not missed. We are engaging with local, national and global supply chains through a dedicated Supplier Engagement Platform, in conjunction with RWE’s Supplier Transparency Engagement Platform (STEP), to help promote opportunities from our investments. Find out more about the STEP initiative and our future supply chain activities through our dedicated pages.

RWE has been hard at work to build world leading expertise and knowledge on floating wind, implementing an unparalleled plan for development and deployment at a commercial scale.

Our capability programme includes pioneering demonstration projects in Spain and Norway, which provide real-life insights beyond structural competence, pointing us towards port and energy infrastructure and supply chain capability requirements, production strategies, planning and beyond, looking at how different technologies respond to varying conditions.