Offshore staff
LA CIOTAT, France — BW Ideol has signed a memorandum of understanding with Associated British Ports (ABP) to assess serial production of concrete substructures for floating offshore wind turbine foundations at Port Talbot on the South Wales coast.
These would be based on the BW Ideol design. The agreement follows the Celtic Sea offshore wind leasing round announced last week by the Crown Estate.
According to BW Ideol, Port Talbot, 120-140 km from the Project Development Areas outlined by Crown Estate, is the sole port in the Celtic Sea with the available marine and brownfield land space availability and technical capabilities to maximize a local supply chain opportunity.
ABP, as owner, is looking to invest more than £500 million ($627.4 million) to transform Port Talbot into a floating offshore wind hub acting as a center for a wider network of ports.
The investment is part of its sustainability strategy, "Ready for Tomorrow," which launched earlier in 2023. It sets out plans for ABP and partners to invest £2 billion ($2.5 billion) into decarbonizing its own operations by 2040 and supporting large-scale green energy infrastructure and industrial decarbonization projects.
BW Ideol CEO Paul de la Guérivière said the proposed development should confirm that the company’s patented concrete floating solution can be manufactured at a large scale.
“We have already demonstrated it in Scotland where we have developed fabrication methods able to provide floaters for the equivalent of 1 GW per year,” he said.
Andy Reay, ABP’s head of Offshore Wind, added, “ABP is looking to invest in new and repurposed infrastructure in Port Talbot to enable the port to host manufacturing, installation and supply chain activity for the FLOW [floating offshore wind] sector and is currently exploring the option of constructing heavy-lift quays to link onshore storage land to the marine environment and create a GW-scale opportunity.”
12.12.2023
