Pennar schoolboy Max Scott has earned himself a place in the development of one of Pembrokeshire’s most exciting sea energy projects after naming the second floating wind platform to be installed by project Erebus.
Max, who is a Year 3 student, has named the platform ‘Mor Egni’ which translates as ‘sea energy’.
“The word ‘mor’, is Welsh for ‘sea’ but it also sounds exactly like ‘more’," said the canny little eight-year-old.
"And that's what this is all about – more energy.
"It's really exciting to be part of the project because our school at Pennar is doing so much with sustainable energy."
This is the second of seven giant WindFloat platforms, each measuring around 100m wide, which will be positioned some 27 miles off the coast of Pembrokeshire within an area of around 32km2 .
A huge wind turbine will be placed on each semi submerged platform, with a blade diameter that could be up to 240m, which is the equivalent of nearly two and a half rugby pitches.
The ‘Erebus’ wind turbines will provide enough green energy for 90,000 homes per year which is more than all the homes in Pembrokeshire and will have a minimum operating life of 25 years.
Pennar Community School plays an active role in exploring renewable energy and recently took part in Blue Gem Wind’s STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) focussed education programme.
“Getting children excited about renewables at an early age is important, particularly as offshore wind is new to the region,” said Mike Scott, managing director at Blue Gem Wind.
“We hope we can inspire local school children to think about a career in offshore wind and focus on STEM subjects at an early age.”
Max’s success is also a major accolade for Pennar Community School as sustainability has long been at the forefront of its academic focus and the pupils have even designed and made their own floating wind turbines.
The Erebus wind farm, masterminded by Blue Gem Wind based in Pembroke Dock, is due to be completed in 2026.
“Projects like this are essential as they will do more to decarbonise the UK’s electricity use than any other technology,” added Mike Scott.
“The UK is already a world leader in offshore wind, with more turbines installed than any other country, but floating offshore projects in the Celtic Sea off Pembrokeshire will make a huge contribution to the extra 30GW of offshore energy that’s expected by the government by 2030.
“And by then, they predict around 70,000 people will be working in the sector. Thanks to Blue Gem Wind and others who follow them, many of those jobs could be right here in Pembroke Dock.”
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