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Announced today, up to five floating turbines could be located 14km off the coast of Northumberland as part of an extension to the utility’s 41.5MW Blyth Offshore Demonstrator wind farm.

It was built in 2017 — the first UK offshore wind farm to utilise float-and-submerge gravity-base foundations, as well  as using 66KV inter array and export cables to connect the turbines to an onshore substation.

According to EDF Renewables, it still has construction consent to build up to 58.4MW of capacity as part of phase two of the project, but its final capacity is yet to be finalised.

At present, the 58.4MW Blyth Offshore Demonstrator 2 project is without a turbine supplier, but “a range of floating technology options are being considered, with the final design still to be determined by further detailed engineering studies,” EDF Renewables said. 

In depths of 55 metres, phase two of the project will be constructed on floating sub structures.

According to a press statement, EDF Renewables is working closely with suppliers and research organisations – including ORE Catapult – to ensure new and innovative technologies are demonstrated within the project, which have the potential to reduce the cost of offshore wind.

The development timescale for the second phase at Blyth has not been finalised. However, the aim is for it to be fully commissioned by early 2025, according to EDF Renewables.

Michele Schiavone, director of offshore wind at EDF Renewables, said: “With the contract for difference (CfD) mechanism providing a potential route to market, we are confident that floating turbine technology can accelerate the UK’s journey to a net zero future where clean energy powers all our lives.”

The UK government hopes to award contracts to 12GW of renewable energy capacity in the next auction rounds, scheduled for later this year. 

For the first time, fixed-bottom offshore wind will have a pot to itself in the UK’s next CfD tender rounds rather than compete against other renewable energy technologies. In another first, floating offshore wind projects will also be able to bid for contracts against  “less-established technologies”, such as advanced conversion technologies and tidal stream.

Alongside the 41.5MW Blyth Offshore Demonstrator in the UK, EDF Renewables also owns the 62MW Teesside , commissioned in 2013.

It is currently working with ESB on the 450MW Neart na Gaoithe project in the Firth of Forth in Scotland and its 1300MW Codling Wind Park project – a joint venture with Fred Olsen Renewables.

����ܾ��Դǰ�'����30MW Hywind Scotland  became the first commercial floating project to come online in 2017.

RenewableUK’s head of policy and regulation Rebecca Williams welcomed the the announcement of Blyth Offshore Demonstrator phase two. 

“The more floating wind we install in UK waters, the cheaper it will become – and we can build up our supply chain and export our innovative technology worldwide. We need to maximise the use of this technology to reach net zero emissions as fast as possible,” she said.

Earlier this week, new research published by ORE Catapult suggested that large floating offshore wind projects could secure CfD electricity strike prices below current wholesale electricity prices as early as 2029, depending on the deployment scenario pursued by the UK.