Crown Estate unveils intent to grant seabed rights for wind project

The Crown Estate has announced its intent to grant seabed rights for wind project offshore UK, subject to a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA).

This means it will move forward with the lease process for two 100MW floating wind test and demonstration sites in the Celtic Sea to Llŷr Floating Wind. The formal award will be subject to a HRA, following which, the Llŷr project will progress with environmental assessments and surveys in line with the regulatory consent processes.

This milestone was reached by Floventis Energy, a newly established joint venture between SBM Offshore and Cierco, focused on the development of floating wind projects. The joint venture seeks to secure seabed rights and relevant permits before implementing state-of-the-art technologies for floating offshore wind activities, helping to stimulate infrastructure investment, reduce costs and develop supply chain in what will be one of the key UK markets for floating offshore wind.

Mikael Jakobsson, Chairman of the Cierco Group, said: “We are very pleased to reach this first milestone for Floventis Energy, which materializes the strong partnership we have established with SBM Offshore with the objective to develop competitive and sustainable floating wind projects.”

Cierco CEO Scott Harper added: “Our development strategy is centred on exploring tailored solutions to meet specific local demands and developing technology capable of being competitive across the broader market. The Llŷr project is a key part of this strategy and Cierco looks forward to working with all stakeholders to deliver market leading solutions in the Celtic Sea.”