News

How Crown Estate surveys will dramatically speed up offshore wind projects

Published

3 years ago

April 8, 2023

THE CROWN ESTATE has decided to invest in offshore wind surveys in the Celtic Sea, which will help the UK floating wind sector to move towards commercial arrays. It has issued contracts for the first metocean surveys off the southwest coast of England and Wales.

The survey data in the Celtic Sea will cut the cost of bidding into the lease auctions and reduce the number of additional surveys required later in the development process.

This will shorten project timelines and reduce costs.

The UK is looking to install 4 GW of floating wind in the Celtic Sea by 2035, and the recent lease auctions have shown that competition is driving up bid prices. The full survey programme will analyse seabed properties, wind, wave, and current patterns, as well as marine wildlife.

UK Celtic Sea – Refined search areas for offshore wind

The surveys should help developers refine the layouts of arrays and anchor designs, key factors in the scaling up of floating wind projects, Tom Hill, program manager at Marine Energy Wales and chair of the Celtic Sea Developer Alliance, said.

The Crown Estate “has taken a very open, collaborative approach” towards engaging with prospective developers and stakeholders, he said.

Developers will need to demonstrate that they have the financial and technical capability to deliver projects at scale, a spokesperson for the Crown Estate said.

Early access to the data will offer “substantial” cost savings for developers, avoiding the need to recruit internal survey teams, Simpson said.

Developers will be two to three years ahead of where they would have been in metocean and foundation understanding, while access to key bird and mammal data will reduce consenting risks, she said.

In a further boost for developers, the Crown Estate will run the Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) process before the auction, Simpson noted. By comparison, the HRA for leases issued in Round 4 auctions in early 2021 was only completed recently, finally allowing the seabed rights to be awarded in January.

UK onshore, offshore wind capacity in 2020

In workshops, developers requested further information in the surveys on potential export cable routes, in line with plans for grid expansions under the U.K.’s Holistic Network Design (HND) 2 review. Led by National Grid ESO, the HND 2 review is due for completion later this year.

Investments in local authorities, power grids and supply infrastructure will be required to ensure Celtic Sea projects are delivered on schedule. Across the UK, local authorities are under-resourced to handle the surge in renewable energy applications expected in the coming years.

Consenting is a major hurdle in Wales as the consenting authority, Natural Resources Wales, “is not currently adequately resourced to handle the volume of applications expected in the coming months,” said Hill.

In addition, grid capacity in Wales needs major investment or “there is a danger developers will choose to go elsewhere”, he said. Proposed grid reinforcements will be set out in the HND 2 review.

An estimated 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of investments in port infrastructure will also be required to assemble and launch floating wind turbines, according to Marine Energy Wales.

No single port in Wales has sufficient water depth, quayside access, assembly and lay-down space, Hill said. Many developers support a multi-port network as sites such as Port Talbot in South Wales are more suitable for construction and assembly, while others, such as the Port of Milford Haven, are more suitable for operations and maintenance (O&M). The ports will likely need to be within 200-250 nautical miles of project sites, according to the Crown Estate.

For the first time, developers will be required to make early commitments to infrastructure. Project partners must provide an investment plan in their lease bids that supports “an internationally competitive supply chain,” the Crown Estate spokesperson said.

This will determine whether participants can proceed to the final stage of the tender, the spokesperson said.

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

Published

2 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoon, marking the start of physical deliveries for the multi-million-pound renewable energy project.

The Maltese-registered general cargo vessel Peak Bergen berthed at Pembroke Dock shortly after 4pm on Wednesday, bringing tower sections and other heavy components for the three Enercon turbines that will eventually stand on land adjacent to the existing gas terminal at Waterston.

A second vessel, the Irish-flagged Wilson Flex IV, is due to arrive in the early hours of this morning (Thursday) carrying the giant rotor blades.

The deliveries follow a successful trial convoy on 25 November, when police-escorted low-loader trailers carried dummy loads along the planned route from the port through Pembroke, past Waterloo roundabout and up the A477 to the Dragon LNG site.

Dragon LNG’s Community and Social Performance Officer, Lynette Round, confirmed the latest movements in emails to the Herald.

“The Peak Bergen arrived yesterday with the first components,” she said. “We are expecting another delivery tomorrow (Thursday) onboard the Wilson Flex IV. This will be blades and is currently showing an ETA of approximately 03:30.”

The £14.3 million project, approved by Welsh Ministers last year, will see three turbines with a combined capacity of up to 13.5 MW erected on company-owned land next to the LNG terminal. Once operational – expected in late 2026 – they will generate enough electricity to power the entire site, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

Port of Milford Haven shipping movements showed the Peak Bergen approaching the Haven throughout Wednesday morning before finally tying up at the cargo berth in Pembroke Dock. Cranes began unloading operations yesterday evening.

Weather conditions are currently favourable for this morning’s arrival of the Wilson Flex IV, which was tracking south of the Smalls at midnight.

The abnormal-load convoys carrying the components from the port to Waterston are expected to begin next week, subject to final police and highway approvals.

A community benefit fund linked to the project will provide training opportunities and energy-bill support for residents in nearby Waterston, Llanstadwell and Neyland.

Further updates will be issued by Dragon LNG as the Port of Milford Haven as the delivery programme continues.

Photo: Martin Cavaney

Crime

Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood

Published

2 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A MILFORD HAVEN woman has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting driving with a controlled drug in her system more than ten times over the legal limit.

SENTENCED AT HAVERFORDWEST

Sally Allen, 43, of Wentworth Close, Hubberston, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Dec 4) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty on November 25 to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the prescribed limit.

The court heard that Allen was stopped on August 25 on the Old Hakin Road at Tiers Cross while driving an Audi A3. Blood analysis showed 509µg/l of Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. The legal limit is 50µg/l.

COMMUNITY ORDER AND REHABILITATION

Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban, backdated to her interim disqualification which began on November 25.

Allen was also handed a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as directed by the Probation Service.

She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge. Her financial penalties will be paid in £25 monthly instalments from January 1, 2026.

The bench—Mrs H Roberts, Mr M Shankland and Mrs J Morris—said her guilty plea had been taken into account when passing sentence.

Local Government

Sewage leak at Pembroke Commons prompts urgent clean-up works

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Council pollution officers say they have no enforcement powers over Welsh Water infrastructure

SEWAGE contamination on the Commons in Pembroke has prompted an urgent response from pollution officers, after a leak was reported by a member of the public on Tuesday.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Pollution Control Team confirmed they were alerted yesterday afternoon to sewage surrounding a manhole cover on the site. The Herald understands that officers immediately notified Welsh Water (DCWW) network technicians to investigate the incident “as a matter of urgency”.

County councillor Jonathan Grimes, who represents Pembroke St Mary South and Monkton, said the authority had been clear that it holds no enforcement powers over Welsh Water assets.

“Whilst we work constructively with Welsh Water, we have no authority to intervene on their apparatus or to carry out enforcement action against them for such pollution incidents,” the Pollution Control Team said in a statement shared with the councillor.

Urgent works underway

Council officers visited the site on Wednesday morning alongside contractors and Welsh Water technicians to assess clean-up options. According to the team, works will include cleaning the contaminated ground in and around the manhole cover and fencing off the affected area “until safe”.

Cllr Grimes said officers would return to the scene on Thursday to check on progress and ensure the area is properly secured.

Residents who notice any further issues have been urged to contact the Pollution Control Team directly.

Further updates are expected later this week.