Sixteen projects across England, Wales and Scotland are set to share over £13m through The Crown Estate’s Supply Chain Accelerator.
The Crown Estate said the second funding round aims to accelerate and de-risk early-stage UK supply chain projects serving the offshore wind sector.
According to the organisation, today’s awards nearly triple the amount provided in the initial round last year.
Projects in Plymouth, Pembrokeshire, Blyth and Orkney are among those to receive development funding to support national clean power goals.
The Supply Chain Accelerator was established as a £50m programme in May 2024 and forms part of plans to invest up to £400m of capital in the supply chain.
These initiatives sit within £1bn of investment from The Crown Estate, Great British Energy and the offshore wind industry announced earlier this year.
Businesses could apply for up to £1.5m per project with 50% match funding for early development expenditure together with an option for The Crown Estate to participate in the capital investment phase.
Projects focused on reef scour protection, automated mooring systems, wet storage, foundation manufacture and anchoring strategies are among those set to be awarded funding, subject to contract.
The Crown Estate said match funding will contribute to more than £26.5m of combined development investment which could lead to over £2.2bn of capital investment and about 3,000 FTE jobs.
“In this 25th anniversary year of UK offshore wind, it’s fantastic to award funding through our Supply Chain Accelerator to a diverse range of exciting projects across the country,” said Julia Rose, head of offshore wind at The Crown Estate.
“Our programme enables early-stage projects to access development funding to hopefully support them into an investible position in future, plugging a gap in the market we have identified and ensuring the onshore supply chain can continue to move at the same pace as planned offshore activity,” added Rose.
“This funding is a significant vote of confidence in Wales’ offshore wind capabilities,” stated Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning Rebecca Evans.
“Wales is at the forefront of the UK’s growing clean energy industry and its great news that more projects are receiving vital funding which will help ensure their success. The development of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea presents huge opportunities in Wales, contributing to our economic growth and creating thousands of well-paid skilled jobs. The UK Government is working with all our partners to develop home-grown clean energy which will secure our energy supply, bring down household bills and help us achieve our net zero ambitions,” commented Jo Stevens, secretary of state for Wales.
“It’s great to see that this round of The Crown Estate’s Supply Chain Accelerator programme includes such a diverse range of UK companies, supporting the transformation of ports all around the country into manufacturing centres of excellence and O&M bases for offshore wind,” said RenewableUK’s head of supply chain Ajai Ahluwalia.