Apollo to Work On Celtic Sea Multi-Connection Offshore Substations

March 21, 2023, by Adnan Durakovic

Celtic Sea Power has awarded the Aberdeen-based engineering consultants, Apollo, with the pre-FEED contract for the 400 MW Pembrokeshire Demonstration Zone Multi-connection Offshore Substation (PDZ MOS) and 2x 1 GW MOSs targeting The Crown Estate Refined Area of Search (RAoS) A offshore Wales.

Located 19 kilometres off the Pembrokeshire coast, the PDZ MOS project is designed to allow offshore renewable energy technology developers easy access to a consented test site complete with a grid connection to prove their technology in the offshore environment.

Partly funded through the European Regional Development Fund, the project also aims to stimulate further investment in the region for the floating offshore wind market. Additionally, the 2x 1 GW MOSs being developed for the RAoS A will demonstrate what a coordinated grid connection could look like for the commercial developments in the Celtic Sea.

This award builds on a collaboration between Apollo and Celtic Sea Power in the concept phase to help define the offshore design envelope and onshore connections of the assets. It is hoped that the outputs of this study will provide confidence around a phased and coordinated floating wind development in the Celtic Sea.

Nigel Jones, Technical Manager at Celtic Sea Power, said: ”This pre-FEED activity will further refine what good looks like for a coordinated approach to bringing up to 2.4GW of power into the electricity transmission system in south Wales. Apollo’s work will focus on deliverable designs that align with the aspirations for offshore coordination in the UK underpinning Wales’s policy ambition for a stronger, greener better Wales. Celtic Sea Power are pioneering work on coordinated enabling infrastructure to maximise the potential of the Celtic Sea, and we are delighted to have Apollo as our consultancy partner once again.”

The Crown Estate bidding round to release 4 GW of floating wind commences this August with an ambition to realise a further 20 GW in the future.

Jonathan White, Regional Director of Apollo, said: ”This contract award builds on a successful first phase of the project and underpins the competency and quality of the engineering team at Apollo. The PDZ MOS is a unique opportunity for the region to become a leading presence in the emerging FLOW market and we look forward to a continued relationship with Celtic Sea Power to help realise this important project.”