Floating Wind Farms Owned By British Monarch To Create 29,000 Jobs

Plans to generate electricity through floating wind farms off the south Wales coast could create thousands of new jobs, according to the Crown Estate.

The property business owned by the monarch but run independently said the new industry could create about 29,000 jobs, including 10,000 in Wales.

It is leasing the space to generate enough power for four million homes.

But firms looking to win contracts from the plans have urged licensing authorities against delays.

“It’s a big opportunity to create a new sector in Wales and the UK,” said the Crown Estate’s Nicola Clay.

“This is absolutely going to happen, interest is growing.”

Until now most offshore wind farms in the UK have been built into the seabed on fixed foundations.

Floating wind farms can be deployed in deeper water than conventional offshore wind farms, where there is often higher wind, such as off the coast of Pembrokeshire.

The wind turbines are floated on massive steel structures and tethered or anchored to the seabed.

The Crown Estate tenders will be issued in summer 2023 and could potentially inject £43.6bn into the UK economy by 2050, according to industry body the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.