RenewableUK Cymru is delighted to announce the Celtic Sea Cluster will be partnering with us as the Platinum Sponsor to deliver Future Energy Wales in the ICC Wales in Newport on 9 – 10 November. 

Other sponsors include RWE, Mainstream, Ocean Winds, EDF, Ørsted, BlueFloat, Equinor, Falck Renewables, Gwynt Glas and Hiraeth Energy.

Now in its second year, the conference and exhibition has grown to a two-day event with the first day focusing on floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.  The second day will explore onshore wind, emerging technologies and the opportunities which becoming a net zero nation offers to Wales. 

Daniel McGrail, Chief Executive Officer, RenewableUK, said:

“Floating offshore wind will be a game changer for renewable energy in the UK and the Celtic Sea will play a key role in ensuring our future energy security.  I’m very pleased we’re partnering with the Celtic Sea Cluster and so many other important players in the renewable energy market to deliver Future Energy Wales this year.  We’ve doubled the event in size since we launched it last year.   Being able to offer a two-day event is a clear indicator of the importance of renewable energy to Wales and I am very much looking forward to discussing how we can ramp up much-needed deployment faster with my industry colleagues and the Welsh Government.”

Stephen Wyatt, from the Celtic Sea Cluster, said:

“The vision of the Celtic Sea Cluster is to make the Celtic Sea the best place in the world to develop floating offshore wind.  Future Energy Wales will be a key event for us to set out our strategy to make this happen and engage with key stakeholders on next steps.  The CV19 pandemic and more recent events in Europe have made it clear that there is a pressing need to generate much more of our energy supplies at home.   This has been recognised in the British Energy Security Strategy, and we believe that this event in Newport is an ideal time for us to examine in more detail the solutions that we are developing and test them with key stakeholders.”

Vaughan Gething, Minister for Economy, who will be addressing the conference, said:

“The Welsh Government wants to see Wales become a global leader in new offshore renewable energy generation, and I’m excited to see innovative floating offshore wind in our Celtic Sea taking centre stage in those developments.  Renewable and sustainable energy like this is not only great for our climate but has the potential to be a gamechanger for our economy, bringing high quality and skilled jobs to our communities.”

The first day will begin with a panel discussion, which is sponsored by Glas Gwynt, with contributors outlining the opportunities which floating offshore wind can bring to Wales. 

The second session, which is sponsored by Hiraeth Energy, will start to delve into the technical issues facing the industry and debate which technology would offer the most economic benefit to Wales. 

There will also be a session on supply chain and how we make sure Wales gets its fair share of the action and that the benefits of floating offshore wind are captured for the local economy.

Equinor will be sponsoring the session that will look at how the grid network in Wales needs to evolve to support floating wind, as well as the other renewable energy opportunities that are being developed in Wales and the southwest of England.  Delegates will then be able to discuss this in more detail at a networking reception sponsored by Ørsted.  This will be followed by a Business Leaders’ Dinner sponsored by EDF, which will be attended by key industry figures.

The second day will start with a focus on onshore wind and an examination of how the concept of a Welsh ‘development company’ could work alongside the commercial onshore wind sector in Wales and how local communities can benefit more from the industry.

The second session, which is sponsored by Equinor, will look at the emerging hydrogen market, and what this means for Wales. 

The final session of the event will look at what Wales needs to do to succeed as a net zero nation and how it can capitalise on this and learn from the experiences of other industries.

Tickets for Future Energy Wales are available now priced from £150 + VAT and can be bought here

For further information, please contact RenewableUK Cymru at [email protected]