Proposals
The Mona Offshore Wind Project will be located entirely in Welsh waters in the east Irish Sea, 28.8km from the Welsh coastline, 46.5km from the north west coast of England, and 46.1km from the Isle of Man.
It has a landfall near Llanddulas, Conwy on the North Wales coastline and a connection to the existing Bodelwyddan National Grid substation in Denbighshire.
The wind farm will consist of up to 96 wind turbines, generating around 1.5GW of electricity.
Mona Offshore Wind Project is pleased to announce its second Project update newsletter, keeping you up to date with the Project’s progress and latest information. Click the link below to find out more.
Inside you will find information about our decision to reduce the wind project site development area, which will further mitigate effects on other marine users, and what you can expect from the next steps of the Project’s development.
Should you have any questions about this newsletter or if you would like further information about the Project generally, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
View update hereOnshore Substation
The feedback we’ve received during our three phases of community and stakeholder consultation has helped us refine many aspects of our proposals and we are now working towards the submission of the project’s Development Consent Order (DCO) application in 2024.
Having collated all the consultation feedback that was submitted, the Mona project team has reviewed the environmental, consenting, engineering feasibility, land and community responses. These responses have been considered against the information included within our Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR), which was the subject of our most recent, statutory consultation.
As a result of this statutory consultation, the Mona Offshore Wind Project team has been able to select a single onshore substation location for the purposes of the forthcoming DCO application. We have also selected a single onshore cable route from the options that were included within the PEIR. This follows a non-statutory consultation in 2022 where seven options were presented for feedback. The project team was then able to shortlist two options which were consulted on at the statutory consultation.
Having considered that consultation and the feedback received, we have now chosen substation option two to take forward into our application for Development Consent. Option seven, which was to the east of option two, has now been deselected and will not be taken forward.
We have also now chosen our single onshore cable route and will be talking to landowners over the coming months, so that we can continue to refine down our cable corridor to one that is approximately 75m wide.
This map illustrates these refinements.
Further information behind the selection of the preferred onshore substation and cable route will be provided within the Site Selection and Consideration of Alternatives report which will be submitted as part of the Environmental Statement that will accompany our DCO application next year.
Why we need offshore wind
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges the world faces. It is affecting every country and we must all play a role in helping to combat it.
This project can play a role in the energy transition by delivering a significant volume of offshore wind in support of the Welsh and UK Governments' targets.
The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and the seas around us are ideal for harnessing wind power. Our project will be operational by 2030 and will play a key role in tackling climate change by:
- Generating low carbon electricity from an offshore wind farm in support of the decarbonisation and security of the Welsh and UK electricity supply.
- Optimising generation capacity within the constraints of available sites and grid infrastructure.
- Supporting the Welsh Government's aim for renewables to generate electricity equal to 70 per cent of Wales's consumption by 2030 as set out in the Net Zero Strategic Plan.
- Delivering a significant volume of offshore wind in support of the UK Government's Net Zero by 2050 target and commitment to deliver up to 50 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030.
- Co-existing and collaborating with other activities, developers and operators to enable the balance of different users.
This project will also:
- Contribute to achieving the aims of the UK's Energy Security Strategy.
- Contribute to the local, regional and national economy by providing substantial investment, as well as employment and new infrastructure during all phases of the project.
- Continue to drive technology and development costs down to provide low-cost energy to consumers and provide community benefits.
- Align with the key drivers in current and planned updates to national policy in Wales and the UK.
The UK already generates around 13GW of its power from offshore wind. It plays an increasingly important role in our energy mix. For example, for a period on 29 January 2022 offshore wind was providing 66% of our total energy output.
This is impressive progress, but we need to go a lot further. To achieve our climate goals, we need to quadruple our offshore wind generation, meaning we need up to 50GW of generating capacity installed and operating by 2030.
How offshore wind farms work
What are wind turbine generators?
For more information on the likely design of the wind turbine generators for Mona Offshore Wind Project, please see Volume 1 – Introductory Chapters, chapter 3 (Project Description) of the PEIR.
Indicative diagram of what a typical wind turbine generator could look like. Actual design may differ.
What are Offshore Substation Platforms (OSPs)?
These are fixed structures that would be located within the wind farm site. The purpose of these structures is to convert the power from the wind turbine generators into a form ready to be transferred to shore.
Indicative image of what a typical OSP could look like. Actual design may differ.
What are inter-connector cables?
These are electrical cables that link one or more OSPs.
What are inter-array cables?
These are cables that link the wind turbine generators to each other and the OSPs.
What are offshore export cables?
These are cables that transfer electricity from OSPs to the shore.
Visualisations
The PEIR contains a series of visualisation diagrams which show what the wind farm could look like from various points. You can find them in the Seascape, Landscape and Visual Resources chapter.
View visualisations