Awel y Môr offshore wind farm secures approval from Natural Resources Wales

An offshore wind farm which could power more than half of Wales’ homes has secured all of its necessary planning approvals with the award of its marine licences from Natural Resources Wales.

It’s an important step for Awel y Môr offshore wind farm, the development of which is being led by RWE on behalf of its partners, and which received approval of its development consent order from Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho in September 2023.

To be situated off the coast of north Wales the scheme is set to be the largest investment in renewable energy in Wales this decade.

Awel y Môr is also one of seven UK offshore wind farm developments for which the Crown Estate is assessing requests to increase generation capacity over and above the project’s initial Agreement for Lease, while staying within its existing consent boundaries.

Project lead Tamsyn Rowe said: “With the marine licences now in place, Awel y Môr offshore wind farm can continue progressing onto the next stages of the project.

“As the culmination of more than five years’ work involving extensive consultation and data-gathering, this is a significant achievement for the team. They are now hard at work refining the plans for construction both offshore and onshore, and taking the necessary steps to enable us to take a Final Investment Decision.

“We are continuing to develop plans to support companies looking to enter the supply chain. In addition, we are looking to ensure there are the necessary skills in the workforce in order to construct, operate and maintain what will be Wales’ largest wind farm when completed.”

RWE has more than two decades’ experience in offshore wind in the UK, having developed and built the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, also off the coast of north Wales, at North Hoyle.

Elsewhere in the region, RWE is also progressing plans for onshore wind farms at Gaerwen and Alwen.  The company also has ambitions to develop floating wind in the Celtic Sea region.

RWE is developing Awel y Môr with project partners Stadtwerke München (30 per cent) and Siemens Financial Services (10 per cent).