bp and Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) today confirmed the names of their planned new offshore wind projects in the Irish Sea – Morgan and Mona – and launched a dedicated supplier portal for the developments.

When complete, Morgan and Mona will have a combined potential generating capacity of 3GW, sufficient to power the equivalent of approximately 3.4 million UK households with clean electricity.

Burkhard Roemhild, EnBW project director, explained the names: “We were inspired by the location of these two offshore wind developments and their connection to the region. Morgan means “sea chief” in Old Welsh, and Mona relates to Ynys Môn, the Welsh name for the Isle of Anglesey.”

Local content and strengthening local supply chains

Richard Haydock, bp project director, added: “These leases will play a critical role in helping deliver the UK government’s aim of producing enough offshore wind to power every UK home, quadrupling the country’s generating capacity to 40GW by 2030.

“We think it’s incredibly important the local supply chain contributes to that, so have today launched a dedicated supplier portal where local companies can pair their skills with the projects’ needs. The portal provides access for companies of all sizes to register their interest for future work.”

The project is encouraging UK-based suppliers to register their interest at enbw-bp.com/suppliers, particularly those with connections across North Wales and the northwest of England.

About Morgan and Mona

In February, EnBW and bp were jointly selected as preferred bidder for the two leases in the UK Offshore Wind Round 4, the first such UK leasing round since 2010.

This marked bp’s entry into the UK’s offshore wind power sector, currently the largest in the world, and was further progress towards bp rapidly building a world-class wind energy business. EnBW currently has onshore wind assets in Germany, France and Sweden and operates four offshore wind assets in the German Baltic Sea and North Sea.

Morgan and Mona were previously referred to as lease areas 1 and 2, or Yellow North and Yellow South. They are approximately 300km² and 500km² in size respectively, are located approximately 30km from the coast, and in average water depths of around 35m.

The partnership initiated wildlife surveys earlier in 2021 and is currently undertaking survey work to characterize conditions of the lease areas including geologic conditions, benthic habitat, and presence of obstructions and sensitive resources that will be considered during development of the projects.

Engaging openly and collaboratively with fisheries and maritime stakeholders

To help the development of Morgan and Mona coexist successfully with traditional maritime industries, the partnership is actively engaging with commercial fishermen and their representatives, gathering insights and feedback.

There are several key ferry transport routes for passengers and cargo across the Irish Sea, linking the British mainland with the Isle of Man and Ireland. The partnership is establishing a maritime navigation forum to proactively identify ways to minimise impact to shipping. bp and EnBW are committed to engaging with other regional communities and industries with an interest in the project.