Associated British Ports , the UK’s leading ports group has teamed up with BrestPort, the company managing the commercial port of Brest in France and Shannon Foynes Port, Ireland’s second largest port operator to lead the way in establishing the first Global Floating Offshore Wind Ports Alliance to help bring together major floating offshore wind ports across the world and unlock the full potential of floating offshore wind.

Launched during RUK’s Floating Offshore Wind Conference in Aberdeen, The FLOW Ports Alliance seeks to recruit ports in Europe, to collaborate on FLOW port design, standardization, and best operational practices. It will aim to strengthen and accelerate compliant knowledge and experience exchange between ports, share best practices as they emerge through demonstration projects, and share innovations to the benefit of the global FLOW network all while respecting competition law.

Associated British Ports (ABP) is the UK’s leading ports group and has been at the forefront of delivering for offshore wind customers for over 30 years. With 21 ports handling around a quarter of the UK’s seaborne trade, it has the ability to work with customers to support the full offshore wind development cycle.

Andy Reay, ABP Group Head of Offshore Wind, said: “Today marks an important milestone for the development of floating offshore wind in Europe and we are looking forward to working with members for the Global Floating Offshore Wind Ports Alliance to accelerate scalable innovation and develop the port infrastructure needed to support growth in this sector.

“At ABP, we believe that one of the biggest clean energy opportunities for the UK is the development of Floating Offshore Wind. This is because floating turbines allow for deployment farther from shore, overcoming the depth limitations of fixed-bottom foundations. We see the Celtic Sea and Scotland as key UK sites for floating offshore wind with our plans in Port Talbot in Wales and the ABP Cromarty Firth Energy Park in Scotland.”

In the Celtic Sea, ABP is progressing plans to invest more than £500 million in new and repurposed infrastructure at Port Talbot to create a hub for FLOW, which has the potential to generate thousands of new, high-quality jobs and attract billions of pounds in inward investment.

In 2013, the Brittany Region launched a structural development plan for the Port of Brest, aimed at welcoming and developing offshore energy-related industries by building new maritime infrastructures and developing available terminal areas.

The Region has committed 250 million euros to the construction of the polder for its Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Terminal. This project offers wind energy customers access to a 400m-long quay dedicated to heavy lift operations and +50 hectares of surface area. It is already partially operational and expected to be fully operational by 2027.

Arnaud Le Roy, ORE Terminal Development Manager, BrestPort, said: “We look forward to working with ABP to share best practice around floating offshore wind. Our commitment to the sector is reflected in our plans to invest EUR 900 million in developments heavily focusing on the energy transition, including establishing the Port of Brest as a major player in floating wind.”

Shannon Foynes Port Company, which has statutory responsibility for the maritime management of the 500 km² Shannon Estuary, is uniquely placed to become Ireland’s primary and one of Europe’s leading floating offshore wind assembly, staging and O&M hubs. This is owing to the Shannon Estuary’s deep, sheltered waters, which are the deepest estuary waters in Ireland and among the deepest in the world; its large available landbanks and proximity to world-class wind resource of the Atlantic.

The estuary has – as per the Irish government report, the ‘Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce’ – an identified pathway of up to 30 GW of Atlantic offshore wind delivered through the Estuary by 2050.

Pat Keating, Chief Executive of Shannon Foynes Port Company said, “With natural deep water, strategic and low-lying shoreside landbanks, and a plan-led investment path aligned to national and European policy, Shannon Foynes Port Company is Ireland’s clearest candidate to serve as the national floating offshore wind hub and a competitive player at European scale.

“Participation in the FLOW Ports Alliance will help us deliver on this potential as we pool the collective insights and expertise of the leaders in this sector across Europe. This is fundamentally about us all working together to realise the enormous economic and environmental dividend that Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe will derive from floating offshore wind.”