Welsh Offshore Wind Project Powers Ahead

The Awel y Môr wind farm team has published the Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) for the project offshore North Wales, the UK.

The PEIR contains detailed maps, plans and information on the project’s expected impacts and how they will be avoided, minimised and mitigated where possible.

The developers have now invited local residents to comment on the PEIR for the offshore wind farm.

”We are really keen to hear from people on all aspects of the proposed wind farm. We held our first round of consultation from 3 November to 13 December 2020. Since then, we have continued with studies and surveys and refined our proposals which you can view on our virtual consultation portal,” said Project Manager Tamsyn Rowe.

Dates and outdoor spaces or venues will be announced on the project website, with ‘covid safety’ being made a priority. As announced, the project team plans to be present in North Wales to meet with residents later in September/early October.

Throughout the six-week consultation period, a number of key consultation documents will also be available in hard copy at select libraries and community venues. There will also be available a virtual consultation platform to view online through the project website.

The first round of consultation was organised in November 2020 when the virtual exhibition platform was launched.

RWE Renewables is leading the development of Awel y Môr wind farm located approximately 10.5 kilometres off the Welsh coast in the Irish Sea, with a maximum total area of 88 square kilometres. It is a sister project to the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm.  

The exact size and capacity of the project is still to be determined.

The developer plans to submit an application for the building permit to the Planning Inspectorate and for the Marine License to the Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in 2022, and have the wind farm fully up and running by 2030.

RWE holds a 60 per cent stake in Awel y Môr, Stadtwerke München controls a 30 per cent, and Siemens Financial Services the remaining ten per cent stake.