North of Wales coast ‘ideally placed’ for renewable energy says minister as offshore ‘cluster’ announced

A Welsh Government minister has said that the north of Wales is “ideally placed” to take advantage of renewable energy as the accountable body for a new cluster of businesses supplying offshore wind projects was announced.

The region’s minister Lesley Griffiths said that Wales’ first Science Park, M-SParc, would lead the Offshore Energy Alliance which would pull together the activities of offshore wind and other low carbon energy projects along the coast.

The Welsh Government is supporting the formalisation of the alliance and has assisted by providing financial support to M-SParc as the accountable body in order to meet the growing mean for low-carbon energy production.

Lesley Griffiths said: “The north Wales coast is ideally placed to be at the forefront of low carbon energy production. We have already seen significant projects here, such as Gwynt y Mor.

“There is a strong skills base and the OEA will work to maintain and strengthen this, while ensuring that the coastal communities can maximise the benefits of future developments

“It’s great to see the OEA now up and running at M-SParc. I was also pleased to see bp now have a presence here too as part of the bp and EnBW joint venture looking to bring forward offshore wind projects off the coast of north Wales.

“As we deal with the climate emergency we know we have to focus on low-carbon energy generation, and the OEA will help ensure we have the skills and supply chain in place to deliver.”

The £20m M-Sparc is owned by Bangor University and was completed in March 2018, with the aim of supporting the development of the region’s low carbon energy sector.

Dr Debbie Jones, Low Carbon Innovation Manager at M-SParc said they were “excited” to be supporting the Offshore Energy Alliance.

“We can see the great benefits this will bring to the region in terms of innovation, skills and supply chain opportunities as well as helping us towards Wales’ important Net Zero ambitions,” he said.

Ifer Gwyn from bp said: “It was a pleasure to meet with the Minister for North Wales. The joint venture established by bp and EnBW to deliver the Morgan and Mona offshore windfarms welcomes today’s announcement. We are committed to working with Welsh Government, the Offshore Energy Alliance, and other stakeholders to build a project that delivers enough low-carbon electricity to power 3.4 million homes.”