The Llŷr project could see up to ten floating turbines installed 35km off the coast, with power brought ashore at Freshwater West

A MARINE licence has been granted for a floating offshore wind demonstration project off the Pembrokeshire coast.

Natural Resources Wales has approved the licence for Llŷr Floating Wind Limited, allowing the Llŷr Floating Offshore Wind Farm Project to move forward.

The test and demonstration facility is proposed around 35km off the Pembrokeshire coast, off Linney Head, and is among the first demonstration-scale floating wind projects in Wales.

The scheme could include up to ten turbines, each reaching up to 300 metres above sea level, together with floating platforms, mooring lines and anchors.

Up to two offshore export cables, around 50km in length, are planned to bring electricity ashore at Freshwater West.

Ruth Jenkins, Head of Planning and Permitting Services and Marine Operations at Natural Resources Wales, said the organisation had a role to play in supporting the move towards clean energy while ensuring projects were developed responsibly.

She said: “At Natural Resources Wales, we have a unique opportunity to tackle the climate emergency across a range of sectors and industries. This includes using our licensing powers to support Wales’s transition to clean energy.

“As a regulator and advisor, we ensure energy projects are developed sustainably and with respect for the environment and local communities. At the same time, we play a vital role in enabling innovation in green energy, helping projects move forward safely and responsibly.

“Wales has enormous potential as a leader in renewable energy, and we’re committed to supporting the benefits that can come from these projects as we move towards net-zero targets.”

Natural Resources Wales is the Marine Licensing Authority on behalf of Welsh Ministers.

Full details of the marine licence granted for the Llŷr Floating Offshore Wind Farm Project are available on the NRW public register.

A FREE woodland event in north Pembrokeshire will invite people to reconnect with the Welsh language, local landscape and cultural traditions through storytelling, creativity and time spent in nature.

Dod yn ôl at fy nghoed / To Return to My Trees will take place on Friday, July 17, from 10am to 4pm, at Canolfan Llwynihirion and Allt Tŷ Canol, near Brynberian.

The event is being hosted by Cwm Arian as part of the Preseli Woodlands Project and will be led by Welsh Druid, author and celebrant Deborah Rose Hālani.

Participants will spend time in the ancient woodland of Allt Tŷ Canol, exploring how Welsh language, landscape, folklore and local traditions have shaped one another over generations.

Organisers say the day is open to everyone, including those reconnecting with their own heritage, people learning about Welsh culture for the first time, or anyone who wants to build a deeper connection with the place they call home.

Sophie Jenkins, Outreach and Engagement Coordinator at Cwm Arian Renewable Energy, said: “Conservation isn’t only about protecting species and habitats. It’s also about nurturing our relationship with the places we live.

“The Welsh language, our stories and our landscapes have evolved together over centuries, yet many people feel disconnected from one or all of those things.

“Whether someone is rediscovering a part of their own heritage or beginning a relationship with Cymru for the first time, we hope this day creates space to connect more deeply with the land, with culture and with community.”

The Preseli Woodlands Project brings together nature restoration and cultural heritage through activities designed to help people experience, understand and care for Pembrokeshire’s woodland heritage.

The project is a partnership between Cwm Arian Renewable Energy, the South and West Wales Wildlife Trust and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.

It is funded through the Welsh Government’s National Forest for Wales Landscape Scheme 2025–2027 and administered by WCVA.

The event is free, but places are limited and advance booking is essential.

To book, email [email protected].

A MAJOR scientific study carried out in Carmarthenshire has found that two simple interventions could help young woodlands capture significantly more carbon.

The research, led by Imperial College London and science-based charity The Carbon Community, found that adding crushed silicate rock and soil microbes can increase carbon capture in young woodland by up to 27%.

The study was carried out at Glandwr Forest in Carmarthenshire and is described as the largest field trial of its kind in the world, with 72 individually managed research plots spread across 28 acres of Welsh hillside.

More than 200 local volunteers worked alongside researchers to gather annual data from 6,400 individually monitored trees, making the project a major example of citizen science in action.

Researchers say the findings could help reforestation projects deliver greater climate benefits without requiring additional land.

The study suggests that, if these simple measures are used as part of wider planting targets, they could help remove an additional 45,000 to 106,000 tonnes of CO₂ in the first four years of planting alone.