£60 million dock modernisation to help fuel marine energy growth

A shipyard has been transformed into a “world-class centre” for wind, wave and tidal power projects following a £60 million upgrade.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner visited the revamped Pembroke Harbour for its official opening later on Wednesday, ahead of what is being called a “key year” for marine energy in Wales.

It is hoped that the changes – which include a new “super slipway” – will attract renewable energy companies and create up to 1,800 new jobs.

However, an industry association said far more government funding was needed to prepare Welsh ports to fully exploit the potential of offshore energy generation.

The port of Pembroke Dock on the Milford Haven waterway in Pembrokeshire occupies an important place in British naval history.

The town itself was founded in 1814 as a Royal Navy dockyard and among the many ships built there were five royal yachts.

It later became the world’s largest military flying boat station during World War II.

Now the site is “on the threshold of a new era,” said Tom Sawyer, executive director of the Milford Haven Port Authority.

The Pembroke Dock Marine programme aims to help transform the site into a “renewable energy port”, he said.

Supported by funding from the UK and Welsh governments and private investment, it is part of the wider Offer for Swansea Bay City.

Mr Sawyer said the development was “the culmination of years of hard work to create a multi-purpose port” at Pembroke Dock.

In addition to an enlarged slipway and areas where companies can build and store equipment and components, the developers have also created new workboat pontoons as well as office and workshop facilities.

“The size of the slipways and access from the quay to deep water are a fundamental requirement for many of the renewable technologies used at sea,” Sawyer said.

The work complements an existing local Marine Energy Test Area (META) and the Pembrokeshire Demonstration Zone (PDZ) and will enable companies to experiment with new technologies at sea.

The proposals met with opposition from several local and national heritage conservation organizations, who criticized potentially “catastrophic” effects on the historic buildings and infrastructure of the port.

But Pembrokeshire Council and ultimately the Welsh Government decided that the economic benefits of developing marine energy “outweighs by far” these concerns.

Claire Lawrence, 32, joined the port as a trainee 12 years ago but rose through the ranks to eventually become project manager in the Pembroke Dock Marine programme.

Before the official opening, she said she was “quite proud.”

“Being able to work on such a big project in our own county is really important and it’s really impressive to see the scale of it,” she said.

“The opportunity to provide career opportunities to local people, especially young people who know that they don’t have to move out of the area but can get good, well-paid jobs locally, is something I’m really proud of.”

A current report Commenting on the state of the sector, Marine Energy Wales described the next 12 months as “crucial”.

The Crown Estate will soon begin awarding seabed leases to companies wishing to build floating offshore wind farms in the Celtic Sea, the area between South Wales, Ireland and Cornwall.

The race to ensure Wales can seize this enormous economic opportunity is on.

Jessica Hooper, director of RenewableUK Cymru, said the Pembroke Dock Marine project was “an incredibly exciting opportunity, particularly for Pembrokeshire”.

“It should really help cement the position of this region as a place to exploit and advance the opportunities of ocean energy,” she added.

But, particularly with regard to floating offshore wind turbines, far more investment is needed to modernise port infrastructure across South Wales, Hooper said.

From the huge components of the wind turbines to their foundations, there will be “scales like we’ve never seen before,” she said.

“That £60 million is a very good stepping stone… but we are probably talking about an amount in the region of £1 billion that needs to be raised.”