Crown Estate offers support to the offshore wind industry in the Celtic Sea

Offshore workers

LONDON — The British company Crown Estate introduced its supply chain accelerator.

It is a £50 million ($63.87 million) fund that aims to accelerate the development of offshore wind projects and reduce risk at an early stage.

An initial amount of £10 million ($12.77 million) is currently available through expressions of interest for businesses looking to launch projects in the UK that could support the development of the floating offshore wind supply chain in the western Celtic Sea.

Earlier this year, The Crown Estate’s Celtic Sea Blueprint project predicted that 5,300 jobs could be created by deploying the first floating offshore wind farm from the current Round 5 lease in waters off the coast of South Wales and South West England.

This research highlighted the need to develop components for floating platforms; dynamic cables and connections; wet storage infrastructure and facilities; operational and management infrastructure and facilities; and facilities enabling the transfer of skills.

The initial tranche of the funding round will provide matched funding of up to £1 million ($1.28 million) for early stage development spend, with the Crown Estate potentially considering participating in the equity investment phase.

The formal call for applications will begin in mid-June and will end at the end of July. Selected projects will be announced from October.

May 28, 2024