George Eustice, Member of Parliament for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, has today welcomed Celtic Sea Power’s ambitious floating offshore wind plan.
Formerly called Wave Hub Development Services Ltd, the Cornwall Council-owned company has changed its name to better reflect its future role, which includes attracting large scale floating wind projects to the Celtic Sea and capturing the economic benefits for the Cornish economy.
Celtic Sea Power is about to complete the sale of the Wave Hub offshore renewable energy test facility to Swedish floating windfarm developer and technology provider Hexicon.
Celtic Sea Power recently hosted a floating offshore wind energy conference in Falmouth to coincide with the G7 Summit of world leaders. More than 300 delegates, most attending online, heard about the potential for floating wind to play a significant part in the fight against climate change and why Cornwall and the South West can lead the way in the UK.
Following his keynote address at the Offshore Wind Energy in Falmouth during the G7 Leaders summit, George commented:
“Recently I opened the G7 Floating Offshore Wind Conference in Falmouth which highlighted the leading role Cornwall is playing in our green recovery. By 2030, the government has committed to quadrupling the amount of offshore wind power we are producing nationally, enough to power every home and supporting up to 60,000 jobs.
“Now more than ever, we are reminded of the importance of looking after our natural environment. Projects like the Celtic Sea are a key part of our wider goal of levelling up our economy and as it develops it will bring jobs, private investment and unique expertise to our area and the Government is committed to placing the environment at the heart of national recovery as we build back better and greener from the pandemic”
Steve Jermy, Chair, and interim chief executive of Celtic Sea Power also added,
“We need to rapidly accelerate the deployment of floating offshore wind to meet UK and global net zero carbon targets. Celtic Sea Power is driving that opportunity for our region where we have the offshore wind resource, supply chain, and emerging regulatory framework.
“We were delighted to welcome so many industry representatives from across the world to our G7 conference event. We showcased the scale of the Celtic Sea opportunity, how we intend to capture this activity to grow the economy and create jobs, and how our region is working with industry and Government to accelerate investment and delivery. This is all about scale and speed. What works in the Celtic Sea will work globally, creating huge export potential.”
And Cherilyn Mackrory, MP for Truro and Falmouth, commented:
“I am huge supporter of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. For me, a huge part of the G7 was about showcasing Cornwall as a centre for clean, green energy and how we can play a major part in the green industrial revolution. The Celtic Sea has great potential with significant wind resource being available to support the UK’s move to net zero as we build back better. This will require a coordinated approach from a number of ports and harbours in the region and I believe that Falmouth, as the gateway to the Atlantic, with the deepest natural port in the UK, can play a part in this. I look forward to continuing to work with key stakeholders to make this happen.”
Stephen Rushworth, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for the economy, added: “Floating wind off the coast of Cornwall is an opportunity like no other in terms of its potential to generate renewable energy on an enormous scale whilst having a transformational and positive impact on local economies. Cornwall Council is delighted to have been part of this journey by supporting the sale of the Wave Hub test site which will provide an important stepping stone for the longer term ambition for large scale development of floating wind in the Celtic Sea, and through Celtic Sea Power we want Cornwall to take the lead to ensure we capture as much local economic benefit as we can.”
The G7 Floating Offshore Wind Conference was held in Falmouth on June 11th and a full recording of the morning and afternoon sessions can be viewed here.
