The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and Welsh Government have collaborated to develop an understanding of what the floating offshore wind (FOW) sector requires in Wales, with the aim of maximising the economic benefits associated with the significant generation potential within the Celtic Sea. Following prior work that assessed how the supply chain surrounding the Celtic Sea can maximise local content, two further studies were completed to review the existing grid and port infrastructure in Wales, identifying the requirements needed for each to support the rollout of FOW at scale.

The ports study provides an analysis of the current capabilities and capacities of Welsh ports and compares these with the likely requirements of FOW project development and deployment. It also looks at the potential to increase capacities and capabilities of these ports, through infrastructure investment, and it assesses the potential for combining ports in a distributed delivery process that enables Wales to capture the maximum benefit from the FOW value chain. Key findings include the requirement to promote collaboration across ports and to engage with both the Crown Estate and UK Government to create market certainty for the sector, which will be crucial in unlocking investment.