To be located alongside the operational 576MW Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea, the north Wales offshore wind project is developed by German energy company RWE in partnership with Stadtwerke München and Siemens Financial Services
RWE's Awel y Môr offshore wind farm receives UK's development consent order. (Credit: Awel y Môr Offshore Wind Farm)
The UK government has awarded development consent order for RWE-led consortium’s Awel y Môr offshore wind farm, which will produce more than 500MW of clean energy.
The project is proposed to be built off the Welsh coast in the Irish Sea.
Granted by the UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the consent is said to represent Wales’ largest renewable energy investment in the next decade. Besides, the consent marks a significant advancement for the north Wales offshore wind project.
The application for the offshore wind facility was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration in April 2022 and was accepted for examination the following month.
The project includes an offshore wind farm including wind turbine generators, associated foundations, wind measurement equipment, and array cables.
Furthermore, it comprises transmission infrastructure including offshore substations, foundations, underground offshore and onshore export cables, transition bays and jointing bays, an onshore substation, and connection infrastructure into the national grid.
The Awel y Môr project will be situated alongside the operational 576MW Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm. The partners of RWE are German municipal supply and service company Stadtwerke München and Siemens Financial Services, the financing division of Siemens.
Stadtwerke München and Siemens Financial Services hold stakes of 30% and 10%, respectively, in the Awel y Môr offshore wind farm.
RWE Awel y Môr project lead Tamsyn Rowe said: “With the Development Consent Order for Awel y Môr now in place, we have achieved a major milestone on our journey towards delivering an offshore wind farm capable of powering more than half a million homes with clean, renewable energy.
“We hope to secure our marine licence in the coming months, plus carry out offshore site investigations on the seabed as we begin to finalise plans for construction.”
Once operational, the Awel y Môr offshore wind facility will generate electricity equivalent to the requirements of 500,000 households. It will feature about 50 turbines at a maximum height of 332m.
The north Wales offshore wind farm will generate hundreds of skilled jobs during construction and operation both directly and throughout the supply chain. It is anticipated to be operational by 2030.