The Crown Estate has selected Equinor and Gwynt Glas, a joint venture between EDF Renewables UK and ESB, as preferred bidders in the seabed leasing round for floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea.
Selected on 12 June, each of the two developers was awarded 1.5 GW of capacity in their respective project development area (PDA) for an annual option fee of GBP 350/MW (approximately EUR 410/MW).
The Crown Estate launched the floating wind leasing round (Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5) in February 2024, offering three areas off the coasts of Wales and South West England for a total of up to 4.5 GW of installed capacity.
Announcing the two preferred bidders on 19 June, the Crown Estate said it would ensure the delivery of the full potential capacity through the deployment of a third site and that work was underway on a range of options to deliver this . The Crown Estate expects to set out the next steps by the end of September 2025.
As part of the Celtic Sea leasing round, bidders were asked to file proposals on which ports they intend to work with to support the delivery of projects, with Equinor and Gwynt Glast identifying Port Talbot and Bristol ports as the likely locations for the final assembly of floating wind turbines, before they are towed out to offshore project sites.
The Crown Estate has also established a new strategic approach with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) as part of the Round 5 leasing to ensure the new wind farms will be the first to come to market with an agreed plan for connecting them to the UK’s energy grid.