A leading developer of floating offshore wind (FLOW) was in Cornwall recently to meet key local industry stakeholders.
Lisarb Energy chair Jamie MacDonald Murray and Lisarb Offshore MD Ian Stout, accompanied by commercial director SW Peter Child, met with Matt Hodson, COO of Celtic Sea Power at its headquarters in Hayle to discuss the FLOW project in the Celtic Sea and how to build partnerships across Cornwall.
This was followed by a lunch at the Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth where Lisarb outlined its plans in the Celtic Sea and the role Cornish Industry has to play in the project.
The next morning Lisarb Offshore hosted a breakfast meeting for over 30 members of MOR Marine Offshore Resources, a collaborative partnership dedicated to championing Cornwall and the south west as an international centre of excellence for marine renewables.
The Government has set an ambition to deliver up to 5GW of floating wind by 2030, with further rapid expansion anticipated thereafter. This will be delivered by the Crown Estate offering new leasing opportunities in the Celtic Sea for the first generation of commercial-scale floating offshore windfarms – unlocking up to 4GW of new clean energy capacity by 2035, kick-starting industry in the Cornwall and the SW, and providing power to almost four million UK homes.
Lisarb Offshore MD Ian Stout said: “Our strategy is to drive costs down and value up – through expert planning and analysis, technology innovation and supply chain agility. We use partnership models to support a country’s capabilities and better manage cost and risk.
“We can apply this blueprint to emerging fixed and floating offshore markets to build indigenous supply chains, deliver revenue for regional economies, and meet the net zero agenda – locally and globally. We met some excellent people and companies during this visit and will be back in Cornwall in the New Year to develop local supply chains and partnerships.”
Lisarb SW commercial director, Peter Child, added: “It is great to see developers talking and working with Cornwall marine industries and technologies. The Celtic Sea is a once in a generation opportunity for Cornwall and the south west. The size and scale of the devices in staggering – each single floating platform base is the size of a football pitch with a tower and blades the size of the Eiffel Tower producing 15MW of power. Up to 300 of these devices need to be built, deployed, anchored and supported in the Celtic Sea for 35 years.”
