All Quiet on the Celtic Sea Front?

Amongst a flurry of high-level discussions and heavyweight reports on floating offshore wind (FLOW) in the Celtic Sea it could be forgiven for overlooking ongoing activity in the region itself. However....

Celtic Sea Power 's program of work on the big "long-lead" challenges continues apace of course - but a range of regional stakeholders now increasingly recognize; the obstacles, the concerns and the work required if FLOW is to have a positive long-term impact on Cornwall, Wales and the South West of England.

A number of companies with ambitions in FLOW are ramping up preparations for the coming opportunities of FLOW. Not just to patiently standby on supply chain lists but (as seen by the growing activity in the new Piranha platform) to proactively work up solutions ahead of the challenges being fully articulated. Actual contracts remain lacking but CSP's recent ITTs for "outline delivery plans" have helped primed the pump. With the Crown Estates newly opened Supply Chain Accelerator fund now neatly following. Crucially, the region's strengths to take on key aspects, i.e. O+M, A+M, are well understood by our private sector - fitting in with a "make or buy" strategy for UK offshore wind.

And developers of course... Test and demonstration projects have such value as "stepping stones" and our vanguard developers are quietly working through real challenges to progress. Several commercial-scale developers may now have drifted away to other markets a key few are hunkered down in preparations for the Round 5 ITT. With bar-raising social value plans we trust.

Free to get in touch for more detail on ongoing work, also on workforce, grid, infrastructure, environments and consents. And to note too that the Celtic Sea Cluster remains a key point of contact for such activity, drawing together the Welsh Government, Marine Energy Wales, ORE Catapult and Celtic Sea Power (who recently took on chairing duties), and getting set to expand this collective of regional voices.

However, as a quick overview of the Development Pipeline, Live Opportunities and Upcoming Events...

Development Pipeline

• Test and Demonstration sites may be smaller (relatively - ranging from 32MW to 300MW) but they should be key to building-up knowledge and capability in the region. Hexicon’s TwinHub, Flotation’s WhiteCross, Floventis’ Lyr1 & Lyr2, and BlueGemWind’s Erebus and Valorous are all now in a critical phase of securing finances and consents. Very real challenges to be overcome - otherwise, delivery in the Celtic Sea will have to jump straight to gigawatt scale projects.
• Leasing Round 5 The Crown Estate’s Round 5 process to deliver 4.5GW by 2035 is now well underway. TCE’s pre-qualification period has now closed and developer applications will undergo a two-stage ITT process from August 2024 to early 2025. Not until late 2025 will AFLs (agreements for lease) be signed.

Not (yet) knowing the names of the lucky winning bidders is no reason to delay preparations to help deliver FLOW and land its socio-economic benefits. However... to build capacity ahead of time we do need confidence in the long-term development pipeline. The field of eager bidders may be thinning but the long-term market outlook in the Celtic Sea remains strong – as it also is for global export. “No regret” activity now is needed to build from strength to deliver at scale.

Live Opportunities

• (Outline) Industrial Delivery Plans | Celtic Sea Power. These ITTs seek ambitious solutions to deliver at scale. They should be collaborative, technically credible, investible and demonstrate socio-economic benefit to Cornwall and the UK. Several have now closed (Anchors & Mooring, Inter Array Cables, Concrete Foundations, Operations & Maintenance) but Logistics and Operational Services remains open. This last call is purposely broad; recognizing that practical local know-how will be vital to delivering FLOW. For more detail, head to Piranha....
• PIRANHA has been designed to support companies to be proactive in working up ambitious solutions in strategically important market challenges. Collaboration is key and all are invited to "pitch in" with ideas to build from strengths. Live opportunities are regularly posted alongside information relevant to these major challenges.
• Supply Chain Accelerator Fund | The Crown Estate. The Crown Estate (TCE) have established a £50million Supply Chain Accelerator fund to help catalyse UK supply chain capacity and capability for offshore wind.  An initial £10million first round of funding will be specifically aimed at UK projects that could support floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. Applications close on 30th July.

Upcoming Events

FLOW is not just a hot topic at national conferences; conversations with a focus on action are increasing in quantity and quality in the Celtic Sea Region itself. Not necessarily exhaustive (let us know!) but including:

• North Devon and Torridge Maritime Network. June 19th, University Centre Petroc
• Ocean Tech Expo 2024. June 26th and 27th, University of Plymouth. MaritimeUK-SW.
• Subsea Electrical Power and Communication Systems Conference. June 26th, Bristol. Global Underwater Hub
• Offshore Wind - Industrial Growth Plan and Supply Chain Accelerator Tour Regional roadshow by Renewable UK, the Offshore Wind Industry Council, and The Crown Estate, in collaboration with the Celtic Sea Cluster, to help businesses scale up for the offshore wind opportunity: 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆: 𝟭𝟬-𝟮𝗽𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗮 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗮: https://ow.ly/f9vW50Si6WU and on 𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆: 𝟭𝟬-2𝗽𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸, 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿: https://ow.ly/tX6G50Si6WW
• FLOW Opportunities. Sept 12th, Plymouth. Plymouth Council.
• Cables 2024. Sept 18th, Marriot Royal Hotel Bristol. Global Underwater Hub / Renewable UK.
• Celtic Sea FLOW Summit. 1st Oct, Eden Project. Celtic Sea Power.