Blue Gem Wind has received planning consent to install a met mast on the Angle Peninsula in Wales to gather wind resource data for floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea.
The met mast, due to be deployed in early March, will be sited on the old airfield, 0.5 km inland of East Pickard Bay, in Pembrokeshire, for a duration of 15 months.
Stakeholder manager David Jones said: “The met mast will provide wind speed and other weather-related data so we can better understand the wind resource of the Celtic Sea.
“This important data will enable us to optimise the design of potential offshore floating wind projects in the region. Once the data has been collected the mast will be removed.”
Blue Gem Wind is a joint venture between Total and Simply Blue Energy, a Celtic Sea sustainable blue economy developer.
The met mast and onshore monitoring equipment is provided by local supplier Solar Wheel.
Solar Wheel project manager Lucy Bywaters said: “As a small family-run company from Brechfa, Carmarthenshire, we are delighted to be working with Blue Gem Wind.
“We have been delivering wind data solutions since 1990 and look forward to providing information that could help progress Wales’ first floating offshore wind projects.”
Independent studies suggest that there is between 15-50GW of floating offshore wind capacity that could be developed in the Celtic Sea.
Blue Gem Wind is focussed on developing floating wind in the Celtic Sea using a “stepping stone” approach with the first project planned being the 100MW Erebus.