Ireland – Source Energie and ERM Dolphyn have teamed up to take advantage of the Celtic Sea’s opportunity to develop floating wind farms that generate green hydrogen rather than electricity.
“Dylan” is the name of the first site in the works. It has a deployment date of 2027/2028 and is located 60 kilometers west of Milford Haven off the coast of Pembrokeshire. This location was chosen after a phased site selection process that included regional resource and constraint analysis, as well as a high-level review of shipping and navigation. Both parties agree that the location is ideal because it provides good energy generating conditions, strong expansion potential, and a number of viable low-impact pipeline routes to areas where hydrogen demand is currently and will be growing.
Future expansion could provide more than 2GW of energy, enough hydrogen to contribute significantly to local and national decarbonization goals, enough to heat around one million homes with zero carbon emissions at the point of use. Through assembly, construction, and operation, the full-scale development would also bring thousands of much-needed jobs and training opportunities to the region.
Government support
The Welsh Government Smart Living Initiative, as part of its commitment to developing the national hydrogen economy, as well as objectives from Wales’ Hydrogen Pathway for driving demand, green hydrogen production, and inter-sectoral synergies, support the ERM Dolphyn opportunity in the Celtic Sea.
The Welsh Government has funded phase 1 and phase 2 studies to investigate the suitability of the Celtic Sea for combining offshore floating wind and hydrogen production as part of its commitment to net zero and the Wales Hydrogen Pathway. The study’s final report for phase 2 will be released soon.
