By PortalPortuario Editorial Staff

@PortuarioPortuario

Coinciding with the start of the UK Global Offshore Wind Renewable trade show in Manchester, Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s largest port operator, announced a new collaboration with Marine Power Services (MPS), a floating wind technology developer based in Wales, to accelerate the progress of offshore floating wind technology in the Celtic Sea.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will involve working with MPS to develop solutions to support the deployment of its advanced floating platform technology, PelaFlex, to the Celtic Sea from Port Talbot. The platform is designed to support the rapid deployment of industrial-scale floating offshore wind energy, while maximizing local benefits and reducing overall project risks and costs.

Andy Reay, director of offshore wind at ABP, said: “We are excited to be working with MPS to evaluate this new technology and hope it will help accelerate progress in the development of the UK’s floating offshore wind sector. “We are delighted to be developing this relationship with the Wales-based company as we work to realize FLOW’s potential to provide jobs and investment in local communities.”

“ABP is developing plans to invest more than £500 million to develop new and repurposed infrastructure at Port Talbot to enable the port to accommodate manufacturing, installation and supply chain activities for the floating offshore wind (FLOW) sector. “This has the potential to create thousands of new, high-quality jobs and attract billions of pounds of inward investment,” the executive added.

ABP plans to invest around £500 million to develop new and renovated infrastructure at Port Talbot to enable the port to accommodate manufacturing, installation and supply chain activities for the floating offshore wind (FLOW) sector.

Martin Carruth, MPS commercial director, commented that “MPS’s collaboration with ABP will help unlock access to key port facilities in the Celtic Sea, which is a key evaluation criterion for the next 4.5 GW leasing round. “By working together, we will enable the creation of an integrated, low-risk implementation plan that minimizes space and infrastructure requirements to accelerate and reduce the costs of building wind farms using PelaFlex.”

“This MoU is an example of the many relationships we are building in South West Wales and across the markets we serve to deliver a quality, curated supply chain that reduces risk for energy developers and increases the delivery capacity of industrial scale projects,” he added.