Equinor and Gwynt Glas, a joint venture between EDF and ESB, have each entered into agreements with the Crown Estate for lease for their planned floating wind farm projects in the Celtic Sea. The agreements follow an auction in June, when both developers were named preferred bidders in The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5.
The two sites, located off the coasts of South Wales and South-West England, will each have a capacity of up to 1.5 GW.
Equinor and Gwynt Glas will now progress with project design, onshore and offshore site surveys, Environmental Impact Assessments, stakeholder engagement, and planning consents. Both developers also plan to deliver a range of social, economic, and environmental initiatives over the lifetime of their projects.
Once these preliminary requirements are fulfilled, the companies will be able to apply for full leases from The Crown Estate to construct and operate the wind farms, which are expected to be operational by the mid-2030s.
