North Wales is major energy player, says First Minister

North Wales is a major energy player, Wales’ First Minister Carwyn Jones said ahead of the official opening of Gwynt y Môr – the world’s second largest offshore wind farm.

With 160 turbines generating 576MW of low carbon electricity Gwynt y Môr has the capacity to power 400,000 homes, equal to a third of households in Wales.

The wind farm is located 8 miles off shore in Liverpool Bay and the development includes the newly-built Operations and Maintenance Base at the Port of Mostyn.

Gwynt y Môr has provided opportunities for Welsh companies with contracts worth £90million awarded to Welsh firms during construction.  The Welsh Government hosted business engagement events to facilitate this.

As well as taking part in the official opening of Gwynt y Môr the First Minister will also visit the site of Wylfa Newydd on Anglesey to hear about the latest developments there.

The First Minister said:

“Gwynt y Môr is a huge achievement and will continue to bring a number of benefits to the North Wales region.  Local companies have been among those to benefit during construction and the site will bring high quality employment and opportunities for years to come.

“With young people receiving training as part of the wind turbine apprenticeship scheme at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai and the courses offered at the college’s Energy Centre in Llangefni,  North Wales is the go-to place for those looking for a workforce skilled in the field of energy.

“With the plans for Wylfa Newydd, a long history of hydro electricity projects and the recent news about Minesto’s plans to generate electricity using tidal power off the Anglesey coast, it is clear that North Wales is a major energy player with some of the most exciting and innovative schemes in the UK taking place here.

“As a government we want to see a transition to a low-carbon future, and North Wales in particular is well-placed to take advantage of that.”