Associated British Ports (ABP) is collaborating with Marine Power Systems (MPS) to accelerate the advancement of floating offshore wind technology in the Celtic Sea.
The MoU will involve working with MPS to develop solutions that support the deployment of its floating platform technology, PelaFlex, in the Celtic Sea from ABP’s Port of Port Talbot, in Wales.
The platform is designed to support the rapid deployment of industrial scale floating offshore wind whilst maximising local benefits and reducing both risk and overall project costs.
Andy Reay, ABP Head of Offshore Wind, said: “ABP is developing plans to invest more than £500m to develop new and repurposed infrastructure in Port Talbot to enable the port to host manufacturing, installation, and supply chain activity for the Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) sector.
“This has the potential to create thousands of new, high-quality jobs and attract billions of pounds of inward investment.”
He added that ABP is excited to be working with MPS.
ABP said its investment has the potential to create 16,000 new, high-quality jobs and attract £5.5bn inward investment.
Martin Carruth, Commercial Director at MPS, said: “MPS’ collaboration with ABP will help open up access to major port facilities in the Celtic Sea, a key assessment criterion for the forthcoming 4.5GW Leasing Round.
“By working together, we will enable the creation of an integrated, lower risk delivery blueprint; one that minimises space and infrastructure requirements to accelerate and reduce cost of wind farm construction using PelaFlex.
“This MoU is one example of many relationships we are building in southwest Wales and across the markets we serve to offer a qualified and curated supply chain that both reduces risk for energy developers and increases deliverability of industrial scale projects.”
ABP’s sustainability strategy, ‘Ready for Tomorrow’, sets out its plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations by 2040 by the latest as support large-scale infrastructure projects to enable the UK’s energy transition.