The Crown Estate has launched its £50m Supply Chain Accelerator program, aimed at benefiting the country’s offshore wind industry through increased early-stage investment in its domestic supply chain.
An initial £10m funding round from the program is now open for Expressions of Interest for businesses looking to establish U.K. projects that could support the development of a new domestic supply chain capability for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.
Earlier this year, The Crown Estate published research, The Celtic Sea Blueprint, predicting that 5,300 jobs and a £1.4bn economic boost could be generated through deploying the first floating offshore wind capacity, resulting from the current Leasing Round 5 process, in the waters off South Wales and South-West England.
Opportunities for supply chain development include floating platform components, dynamic cables and connections, wet storage infrastructure and facilities, O&M infrastructure and facilities and skills transition facilities.
The application process opens formally next month and closes at the end of July. Successful projects will be chosen following an application assessment process and announced from October. The Crown Estate will be supported by professional services firm Grant Thornton.
“We’re delighted to launch our Supply Chain Accelerator which will catalyze early-stage project development and maximize the opportunities identified in the Celtic Sea Blueprint,” says Will Apps, offshore wind strategy director at The Crown Estate.
“Investing in our domestic supply chain will enable the U.K. to remain a world leader in offshore wind whilst creating jobs and economic growth in communities local to these transformative projects.”
