Falmouth’s £1m Floating Offshore Wind Marshalling Facility Takes Shape – What It Means for Cornwall

A £1 million project to position Falmouth at the forefront of floating offshore wind (FLOW) development is well underway, with 30,000 square metres of dockside space being created to support the growing sector.

A Major Opportunity for Cornwall

Floating offshore wind is seen as a major economic and environmental opportunity for Cornwall. The Crown Estate has set a target of generating 4.5GW of electricity from three proposed wind farms in the Celtic Sea by 2035, which is expected to power four million homes. Further plans for 12GW by 2045 highlight the long-term growth potential of the industry.

The first three wind farms alone will require more than 260 turbines, each standing up to 300 metres tall and mounted on floating platforms the size of a football pitch. These will need 1,000 anchors, at least 300km of mooring lines, and 900km of cables to connect the turbines to the onshore grid.

Falmouth’s Role in the Future of Offshore Wind

To ensure that Cornwall captures a significant share of this activity, APCL Falmouth is developing a floating offshore wind marshalling facility at Falmouth Docks. This facility will provide 30,000 square metres (almost 7.5 acres) of laydown space between County and Duchy Wharfs, helping to meet the growing needs of the FLOW market.

The £1 million investment is part-funded by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Programme, which is managed by Cornwall Council. The programme is contributing £502,500 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to support the project.

Progress is already well advanced, with 10,000 square metres of unused sheds demolished and improvements, including resurfacing, being made to 20,000 square metres of quayside space.

Cornwall Council portfolio holder for the economy, Louis Gardner, explained the significance of the investment:

“This vital infrastructure investment is among a suite of FLOW-related projects funded by the Good Growth Programme to ensure that Cornwall is at the forefront of this economic and environmental opportunity. It will ensure that the Port of Falmouth remains a strategically important economic asset while boosting key sectors including renewable energy, engineering, and marine.”

Drystan Jones, Director of Port Development at APCL Falmouth, emphasised the port’s commitment to modernisation:

“Falmouth Port is a statutory harbour authority operated by Falmouth Docks and Engineering Company (FDEC).

“As such, APCL is committed to modernising the existing infrastructure to ensure the port can meet the changing demands which are placed upon it, which includes supporting the growth of floating offshore wind and growing cruise activity in Cornwall.

“This project is the first phase of a programme of modernisation, which will see investment in APCL Falmouth, which will underpin social and economic growth in Cornwall.”

Supporting the Future of Floating Offshore Wind

Floating offshore wind developers require large port sites with substantial laydown space for marshalling components. These sites also need to be adjacent to large quaysides to accommodate jack-up and construction vessels during installation operations. The space being developed in Falmouth has been modelled and tested with FLOW developers across multiple device designs to ensure it meets industry needs.

The Good Growth Programme is supporting other FLOW-related investments in Cornwall, including:

• Upgrades at Penzance Dry Dock
• Support for floating dry dock technology business Tugdock
• A feasibility study for a mooring and anchoring R&D centre in collaboration with the University of Plymouth
• Investment in the Cornwall FLOW Commission to lead sector development, including supply chain and skills capacity

More details on the Good Growth Programme can be found here.