Investment in Pembrokeshire’s offshore windfarm Erebus will be delayed due to not securing a UK Government renewable energy auction contract, a Welsh renewable energy promotion company has said.

RenewableUK Cymru said it is incredibly disappointed to learn there are no floating offshore wind winners in this year’s UK Government renewable energy auction, including Erebus, Wales’ first planned floating windfarm off Pembrokeshire.

Today, September 8, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced the results of the UK’s fifth Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction round (AR5) to incentivise the build out of renewable energy projects.

The flagship 100MW test and demonstration windfarm, due to be commissioned in 2026, was the leading opportunity for Wales to kick start a burgeoning industry, unlocking the first of thousands of jobs and opportunities for local people, RenewableUK Cymru has said.

“As Wales’ first floating offshore wind project, Erebus is entirely dependent on this form of revenue support to succeed, and the success of Erebus is critically important not only to Wales and the wider South West region, but also for the UK Government’s own floating offshore wind targets," Director Jess Hooper said.  

“This result will now delay investment decisions for developers, supply chain companies, ports and infrastructure, all with knock-on effects.

“Despite the industry’s clear warnings, the UK Government has not taken inflationary costs and supply chain squeeze into account in this latest auction, focusing solely on competition through cost reduction.

“This is a huge wake-up call that if we want to deliver on our targets in this decade of delivery, we need to see considerable reforms to the CfD auction design and industrial strategy to support its development and deployment.”

Hailed as the pioneer of floating wind development in the Celtic Sea, the Erebus project, 40km off the coast, would generate enough clean energy to power 93,000 homes.