The Mona Offshore Wind Farm – which will be located entirely in Welsh waters in the east Irish Sea – has been granted development consent by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The application will consist of the development of an offshore wind farm with an approximate capacity of 1500MW in the Irish Sea awarded as part of the Round 4 Offshore Wind Licensing Arrangements.
The developer said modelling activity showed that it would create and support approximately 3,420 jobs in total during the different phases of the project.
At the closest points the array area is 28.8 km from the north coast of Wales, 46.9 km from the northwest coast of England, and 46.6 km from the Isle of Man.
It has a landfall near Llanddulas, Conwy on the North Wales coastline and a proposed connection to the existing Bodelwyddan National Grid substation in Denbighshire.
The Mona Offshore Wind Project is being developed by Mona Offshore Wind Ltd, a joint venture of bp and Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW).
It is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) which means that it was necessary to submit a development consent order (DCO) application to the Secretary of State.
Sarah Pirie, Programme Director, EnBW, said:
“We are delighted that the Mona Offshore Wind Farm has secured consent from the Secretary of State of Energy Security and Net Zero. This approval follows a rigorous and comprehensive process, affirming the project’s readiness to deliver large-scale, lower carbon energy that strengthens the UK’s energy security and is crucial to achieving a net-zero future, while aiming to minimise environmental impact. We will now advance supply chain engagement across multiple engineering and construction scopes.”
Mark Hudson, Programme Director, bp, said:
“We are grateful to all those who have contributed to the project to date, whose valuable feedback and dialogue has been instrumental in refining our proposals. As we proceed to review the Development Consent Order, we will continue to engage closely with stakeholders and local communities to support the successful delivery of the project and to help maximise its economic benefits for North Wales and the wider UK economy.”
Mona includes offshore elements, to generate electricity, and both offshore and onshore elements to enable the transmission of the electricity generated to the national grid:
- Wind turbine generators (up to 96 turbines, generating around 1.5GW of electricity)
- Four offshore substation platforms
- Offshore interconnector cables, inter-array cables and export cables
- Four transition joint bays (connecting the offshore and onshore cables)
- Onshore cables
Before the project can move into the construction phase, Mona Offshore Wind Farm requires a Marine Licence to be issued by Natural Resources Wales (NRW). The developer said it will continue to work with NRW “in support of a timely grant of the licence”.
The developer said it expected a Final Investment Decision (FID) and construction to start in 2026/27, with commercial operation expected to start in 2028/29.
Its website outlines the potential economic benefits of the scheme, saying:
“As well as playing a key role in tackling climate change, our proposals for the Mona Offshore Wind Project will unlock significant economic benefits, both in terms of the jobs we will create and the supply chain opportunities that will be on offer for businesses across Wales and the whole of the UK.
“We are engaging with ports and harbours around the Irish Sea that could support construction activities and then eventually operations and maintenance for the wind farms.”
It adds that job creation and support is expected to be:
- 710 jobs during planning and design, generating wages worth around £19.7 million each year
- 2,120 jobs during construction, generating wages worth around £74.8 million each year
- 590 jobs during operations, generating wages worth around £27.6 million each year
A dedicated supplier portal has been launched where local companies can pair their skills with the project’s needs.
