PelaFlex is highly stable with small offsets and zero tilt, reducing wear and tear and improving yield from the wind turbine, courtesy of MPS

To coincide with the start of Renewable UK’s Global Offshore Wind trade show in Manchester, Associated British Ports , the UK’s largest and leading ports operator has announced a new collaboration with Marine Power Services , a Wales based floating wind technology developer to accelerate the advancement of floating offshore wind technology in the Celtic Sea.

The Memorandum of understanding (MOU) will involve working with MPS’ to develop solutions that support the deployment of their advanced floating platform technology, PelaFlex, in the Celtic Sea from ABP’s Port of Port Talbot. The platform is designed to support the rapid deployment of industrial scale floating offshore wind whilst maximising local benefits and reducing both risk and overall project costs.

Andy Reay, ABP Head of Offshore Wind, said: “We are very excited to be working with MPS to assess this emerging technology and hope that it will help accelerate progress in developing the UK’s floating offshore wind sector. We are particularly pleased to develop this relationship with a Wales-based company as we look to realise the potential of FLOW for jobs and investment in local communities.”

“ABP is developing plans to invest more than £500 million to develop new and repurposed infrastructure in Port Talbot to enable the port to host manufacturing, installation, and supply chain activity 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.”

For more than 30 years, ABP has been delivering for offshore wind customers, with the ability to support the full offshore wind development cycle. One of the biggest clean energy opportunities for the UK is the development of Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) in Wales.

ABP is planning to invest around £500 million to develop new and repurposed infrastructure in Port Talbot to enable the port to host manufacturing, installation, and supply chain activity for the Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) sector. This has the potential to create 16,000 new, high-quality jobs and attract £5.5 billion inward investment.

Martin Carruth, Commercial Director at MPS, commented: “MPS’ collaboration with ABP will help open up access to major port facilities in the Celtic Sea, a key assessment criterion for the forthcoming 4.5GW Leasing Round. By working together, we will enable the creation of an integrated, lower risk delivery blueprint; one that minimises space and infrastructure requirements to accelerate and reduce cost of wind farm construction using PelaFlex.

“This MoU is one example of many relationships we are building in southwest Wales and across the markets we serve to offer a qualified and curated supply chain that both reduces risk for energy developers and increases deliverability of industrial scale projects.”

ABP is redefining what keeping Britain trading means in the greener, cleaner economy of the future. This is reflected in the launch of its sustainability strategy, ‘Ready for Tomorrow’, which sets out ABP’s plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations by 2040 by the latest as support large-scale infrastructure projects to enable the UK’s energy transition.“