As projects of this scale represent massive capital investment into local areas, there is considerable opportunity for job creation along the Atlantic coast. The Western Star Floating Wind project will support local job creation at all stages, including by working with the fishing industry to explore opportunities for future employment and by actively encouraging local content in our supply chain.
A range of supply chain opportunities will be rolled out as the project progresses, from initial consultation and survey work to port and road infrastructure development, to construction and installation. Ongoing Operation & Maintenance (O&M) contracts will also come on-stream post construction. Local suppliers will be encouraged at all stages with tender scoring weighted based on local investment content.
A study in the UK found that a 500MW Celtic Sea FLOW site alone could generate 1,381 construction stage jobs and 33 O&M stage jobs in the Welsh and SW region of the UK, in addition to 630M in direct local investment during the construction phase with a further 8.8M annually for O&M. Our philosophy is to develop and nurture the local supply chain through phased “stepping-stone” developments.
¹ORE Catapult Report – Benefits of Floating Offshore Wind to Wales and the South West, Supply-chain report.