Why North Wales & North West?

Did you know that The North Wales North West (NWNW) Irish Sea region hosted the earliest wind farms in the UK and currently hosts just under one third of the UK’s offshore wind capacity?

North Wales, Merseyside and Cumbria, are leading regions for offshore energy and maritime, with renewables projects already supplying electricity to meet large urban, rural and industrial demands. The region is also a priority area for further offshore renewables as identified by The Crown Estate. Our transition towards low carbon electricity is an important part of our climate change response with conventional fossil fuel power stations, such as coal, closing down.

The region has been identified as a key location for further offshore wind projects, with related sectors (floating wind, hydrogen, marine energy and others) set to flourish too. With existing expertise and with high quality local businesses (both existing and evolving), the region is ready to offer its potential and extract its share of the benefits. The OEA will help build on existing capabilities to further develop local SMEs, skills and innovation institutions across the region.

Ports in the OEA region

There is huge potential in the region for supporting renewable energy project construction, operations and maintenance activities, with examples including: the Ports of Holyhead and The Port of Mostyn in North Wales; the Port of Liverpool (with freeport status), and the Ports of Barrow and Workington in Cumbria. There is also a wealth of maritime experience via the likes of Mersey Maritime – a local cluster organisation with members such as Bibby Marine and Cammell Laird.