Hexicon to develop floating offshore wind in Celtic Sea

A30-40MW floating offshore wind project is to be developed off the Cornish coast following Hexicon’s acquisition of Wave Hub from Cornwall Council. 

The deal will see Hexicon, a Swedish floating windfarm developer and technology provider, acquire the assets of Wave Hub through its UK subsidiary TwinHub. The transaction is expected to complete at the end of May for an undisclosed sum.

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In a statement, Hexicon chief executive Marcus Thor said: “Hexicon has been active in UK floating wind market since 2014 and sees the acquisition of Wave Hub, and the deployment of our twin turbine technology in the Celtic Sea, as an essential stepping stone to fulfilling our long-term ambition of developing utility scale floating wind projects capable of delivery long term, consistent, and secure renewable energy at the lowest possible levelised cost of energy.”

The Wave Hub site, which is 16km north of St Ives and Carbis Bay,  includes assets such as a 30MW grid-connection and agreement with Western Power Distribution (expandable to 40MW); an onshore sub-station and related land; and a consent over eight square kilometres of sea with water depths of between 51m and 57m.

Hexicon will develop the site for a floating offshore wind project and to deploy its twin-turbine floating foundation. The company is working with engineering, construction, and project management company Bechtel and power could be delivered by 2025.

As well as establishing how the technology could be brought to market, the team will explore the roles that local suppliers could play in investigative works, fabrication and assembly, mooring, and installations, as well as serving the long-term needs of floating offshore wind.

Steve Jermy, chair of Wave Hub Development Services and a director of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “This is a milestone agreement with Hexicon to bring their innovative floating wind technology to Cornwall.

"It will be the first such project in the Celtic Sea and kick-start our regional ambition to see our 3GW installed by 2030, which could create thousands of jobs and generate hundreds of millions of pounds for local economies.”

Cornwall is said to have a significant offshore renewable energy supply chain. Offshore wind projects in the region were given a boost in March, 2021 when The Crown Estate announced its intention to deliver a floating wind leasing opportunity for projects of around 300MW in the Celtic Sea.