ERM Dolphyn, Source Energie to develop green hydrogen floating wind in Celtic Sea

With ERM Dolphyn, a leader in green hydrogen production, Source Energie has joined forces to identify both medium- and long-term sites for the development of floating offshore wind.

One of their goals is to develop floating wind farms that produce green hydrogen, rather than electricity, from the Celtic Sea. Using green hydrogen as a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels is an essential part of our low-carbon future.

“Dylan” is the name of the first development site. It is scheduled to be deployed in 2027 or 2028, and it’s about 60 kilometers off the coast of Pembrokeshire, west of Milford Haven. Using a multi-phase site selection process that took into account regional resource and constraint analysis as well as a high-level review of shipping and navigation, this location was finally selected. Aside from its favorable energy generation conditions and expansion potential, the site also boasts a number of low-impact pipeline routes to areas where hydrogen demand is already high and will continue to rise.

More than 2GW of additional energy could be generated in the future, resulting in enough hydrogen to meet local and national decarbonization goals, enough to heat approximately one million homes without emitting carbon dioxide at the point of use. Assembling, constructing, and operating the entire project would create thousands of new jobs and training opportunities in the area.

While the Welsh Government Smart Living Initiative supports the ERM Dolphyn opportunity in the Celtic Sea (Project Dylan), it also supports the Welsh Hydrogen Pathway’s goals for driving demand, green hydrogen production, and cross-sectoral synergy.

The policy framework of Net Zero Wales and the Welsh Government’s second carbon budget includes support for large-scale hydrogen production, which ERM Dolphyn could provide (2021-2025). Additionally, more detailed policy work is underway, focusing on support for major deployment projects as well as the development of a long-term skills and qualification framework to ensure a strong position in hydrogen production and fuel cell technologies in Wales.

First and second studies were funded by the Welsh Government as part of its net zero and Wales Hydrogen Pathway commitments, to examine whether the Celtic Sea is suitable for offshore floating wind and hydrogen production. Phase 2 of the study’s final report will be released in the near future.