Marine Energy Wales (MEW) is delighted to welcome Blue Gem wind as a new member. Blue Gem Wind is a new energy partnership that is developing floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. The joint venture between Simply Blue Energy, a pioneering Celtic Sea energy developer, and Total, one of the world’s largest energy companies was announced in March 2020.
Speaking about priorities for the next year Hugh Kelly, Project Managing Director for Blue Gem Wind said: “We are aiming to raise the profile of floating wind in the Celtic Sea, to engage as much as possible with stakeholders and communities, to work collaboratively with development agencies in Wales, Cornwall and across the UK and to maximise the opportunities for local supply chain content. We are continuing with consenting, planning, and engineering design for Erebus, with offshore surveys starting this August. This will provide us with more detail on the array layout, potential cable routes to shore and the grid connection at Pembroke.
“MEW plays a critical role for any project developer looking at offshore energy in Wales and we are delighted to become a member. They provide advice and local knowledge, promote the benefits of marine energy, play a crucial role in shaping government and policy support and the working group meetings are a fantastic opportunity to collaborate across the sector. We are particularly looking forward to engaging in the successful MEW education programme focussing on future generations,” he continued.
Jess Hooper, Marine Energy Wales Said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Blue Gem Wind as a Premium Member of MEW. We look forward to working with them as their projects develop and being able to maximise the benefits for region. We are also looking forward to working together to introduce the concept of floating offshore wind into our Coastal Curriculum education work.”
Blue Gem Wind will initially focus on a 96MW demonstration project 45 km offshore. The project, named Erebus after the famous ship built in Pembroke Dock will become the largest floating offshore wind project in the world when constructed in 2027. Erebus is the first project in a stepping stone approach to developing floating wind in the Celtic Sea. A series of subsequent projects, gradually increasing in size will enable the local supply chain to maximise opportunities before commercial size projects in the 2030’s.
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