Floventis Energy announces public consultation on floating offshore wind farm in the Celtic Sea

Floventis Energy has confirmed the start of public consultation on Llŷr 1, a test and demonstration floating wind farm situated in the Celtic Sea that is expected to power just over 100,000 homes[1] with clean, green energy.

At its closest point, Llŷr 1 will be approximately 36 km from the Welsh coastline, 55km from Lundy Island and 72km from the Devon coastline.

With work on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) underway, public consultation on Llŷr 1 will run from Monday 15 January to Sunday 11 February 2024. A virtual exhibition is available at https://llyr1.consultation.ai and events will be held at:

• Pembroke Dock Community Learning Centre, Albion Square, SA72 6XF- Thursday 25 January from 12:00 to 16:00
• Foundry House, Orange Way, Pembroke, SA71 4DR – Friday 26 January from 11:00 to 15:00
• Hundleton Sports Pavilion, Hundleton, SA71 5RD – Tuesday 30 January from 15:00 to 19:00

Floventis Energy then expects to submit an application for consent to construct and operate an offshore generating station, with deemed planning permission for onshore works, under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.  This process is managed by Planning and Environmental Decisions Wales on behalf of Welsh Ministers.  In parallel, a Marine Licence will be applied for which is consented under Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.  The Marine Licence is administered by Natural Resources Wales Marine Licensing Team. This will allow the developer to build and operate Llŷr 1 . Construction is expected to begin in late 2026 subject to the necessary consents.

Olivier Marchand, Project Director for The Llŷr project  said: “With consistently high average wind speeds and good access to local ports and supply chain partners for construction and operations, the Celtic Sea gives Wales the opportunity to become a global leader in floating offshore wind.

“Our pathfinder project will pilot the development, construction, installation and operation of floating offshore wind. We have worked hard over the last year to engage widely with the local community, supply chain and consultees. This is now a formal opportunity for the public to have their say on Llŷr 1 and to let us know if there is anything else that we should consider about Llŷr 1 – both offshore and onshore – as part of this work. The feedback received during this consultation will inform our detailed design of Llŷr 1.”

Floventis is a joint venture formed in 2021 by Cierco and SBM Offshore. Headquartered in Amsterdam, SBM is a leading global offshore energy business with a 60-year track record in offshore innovation, a workforce of 7,000 and revenue in excess of US$2.3 billion. With offices in Scotland and California, Cierco is an independent renewable energy project development company established in 2001. Projects range from first demonstrator deployments to larger pre-commercial and commercial arrays.

Visit www.llyrwind.com to find out more. Feedback needs to be submitted by 23.59hrs on 11 February 2024.

[1] Based on R-UK statistics using BEIS data https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained/Statistics-Explained.htm