Awel y Môr offshore wind farm secures approval from Natural Resources Wales

A major wind farm project off the Welsh coast has been granted marine licenses by Natural Resources Wales.

RWE’s Awel y Môr offshore wind farm, which will be Wales’ largest renewable energy investment this decade, was granted a Development Consent Order by the UK Government in September.

The wind farm which could power more than half of Wales’ homes has now secured all of its necessary planning approvals for the project to progress.

The Marine Licences cover all works in the marine environment, including the wind turbine array area and the offshore cable route.

Gwynt y Môr

The project will be located alongside the already operational 576-megawatt Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm.

RWE claims it will create hundreds of skilled jobs during construction and operation, both directly and throughout the supply chain.

Awel y Môr is expected to be operational before 2030 with a maximum of 50 turbines at a maximum height of 332 meters .

Awel y Môr is also one of seven UK offshore wind farm developments for which the Crown Estate is assessing requests to increase generation capacity over and above the project’s initial Agreement for Lease, while staying within its existing consent boundaries.

Refining plans

Project lead Tamsyn Rowe said: “With the marine licences now in place, Awel y Môr offshore wind farm can continue progressing onto the next stages of the project.

“As the culmination of more than five years’ work involving extensive consultation and data-gathering, this is a significant achievement for the team. They are now hard at work refining the plans for construction both offshore and onshore, and taking the necessary steps to enable us to take a Final Investment Decision.

“We are continuing to develop plans to support companies looking to enter the supply chain. In addition, we are looking to ensure there are the necessary skills in the workforce in order to construct, operate and maintain what will be Wales’ largest wind farm when completed.”

RWE developed and built Wales’ first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, also off the coast of north Wales, at North Hoyle and is also progressing plans for onshore wind farms at Gaerwen and Alwen.

The company also has ambitions to develop floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea.