The United Kingdom's National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) has published its “National Grid’s Beyond 2030: Celtic Sea plan” in which it plans to connect 4.5GW floating offshore wind from the Celtic Sea to the onshore grid network. The plan has been released ahead of the Celtic Sea floating wind leasing round, the UK’s fifth offshore wind auction, to reduce risks for project developers by allowing them to make a more informed bid based on the network recommendations. The plan recommends a design that connects to 3 GW of floating offshore wind into two locations in south Wales and up to 1.5 GW into south-west England, with each of the three proposed project development areas (PDAs) having its own connection to the onshore electricity network. The Crown Estate has subsequently issued an invitation to tender for pre-qualified, through which it aims to award acreage for 4.5 GW of offshore wind capacity to connect directly into the national transmission network.
The United Kingdom aims to decarbonise the electricity sector by 2030 and to develop up to 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030 (5 GW of which is floating offshore wind).
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