The Southwest is poised for a bonanza of jobs after the Crown Estate announced it wanted to generate enough electricity from the Celtic Sea to power four million homes.

The independent trading company, which controls land owned by the monarchy, has confirmed that it seeks to unlock 4 GW of power from the Celtic Sea by 2035. That could mean thousands of jobs in green energy in Cornwall and the South West by developing the floating wind industry

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Basically, The Crown Estate, which manages the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, wants to establish a new industrial sector in the UK.

He said he wanted to ensure the South West, Wales and the UK as a whole benefit from the opportunity to become a global leader in floating wind technology, with significant new investments in jobs, skills and infrastructure.

The news was warmly welcomed by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Partnership for Local Business (LEP), which for four years has advocated for floating wind in the Celtic Sea as a major opportunity to generate electricity. clean energy and create jobs in Cornwall.

Steve Jermy, LEP Board Member and Head of Renewable Energy, who is also Managing Director of Hayle-based offshore renewable energy development company Celtic Sea Power, said: “This is an extremely important announcement. for the development of a floating offshore wind industry in the Celtic Sea. , and the critical role Cornwall can play in creating it through our existing offshore renewable energy assets and expertise.

“We have been advocating for the scale of opportunity for four years to help decarbonize our economy and create thousands of jobs.

“We are therefore delighted that The Crown Estate has made a commitment to accelerate seabed lease rounds and undertake the studies necessary to integrate floating wind power with other industries and activities at sea.

“The final piece of the puzzle will be a similar commitment from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to Cornwall and the Celtic Sea to ensure there is sufficient support for contracts for the difference so that we can launch projects now and start building capacity early in the region so that we can maximize economic opportunities for Cornwall and the UK when the bigger projects arrive. “

Mr Jermy said the first project eligible for support is Twin Hub, a more than £ 100million project by Swedish floating wind farm developer Hexicon to install a 30-40 twin-turbine floating wind platform. MW at the old Wave Hub site off the North Cornish coast. by 2025, which Hexicon acquired earlier this year.

“This will be the first offshore wind project floating in the Celtic Sea, and a major stepping stone towards the development of sustainable regional industries to support this exciting new sector of renewable energies,†he added.

The Crown Estate announcement coincides with the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow and the publication this week by LEP of a new prospectus outlining low carbon investment opportunities in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The prospectus says 3 GW of wind power floating in the Celtic Sea by 2030 could create at least 1,500 primary jobs, 9,600 wider jobs and £ 900million in economic benefits. It could also be a low-carbon energy source for a burgeoning technological metals mining industry in Cornwall, leading to sustainable production of metals essential to the energy transition, including lithium, tin and copper. , which are currently all imported into the UK.

Learn more about the South West Green Revolution