ABP presents plan to turn Port of Barrow into renewables hub

UK port operator Associated British Ports (ABP) has unveiled plans to turn the Port of Barrow into an advanced engineering and renewable energy hub with the deployment of a new floating solar plant, expanding services to the offshore wind industry and maritime connections to support hydrogen import and carbon storage.

The clean energy initiatives are part of a broader masterplan for the Port of Barrow that sets out three core objectives that focus on delivering growth capacity for an advanced engineering cluster, net zero cluster and local businesses, communities and environments.

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The first project proposed as part of the second objective will be the installation of the Barrow EnergyDock floating solar farm of up to 32 MWp in Cavendish Dock which will soon undergo a public consultation process.

Once commissioned, the floating solar farm will produce enough clean electricity to power 10,300 homes annually. Its output is intended to support Barrow’s advanced engineering sector.

The masterplan also envisages the construction of new operations and maintenance (O&M) bases, along with berths capable of handling larger service operation vessels (SOVs), to serve the offshore wind industry. Barrow already hosts five such bases.

In addition to the O&M sites, the port is set to offer facilities for the construction process of the windfarms, supporting the anticipated GBP 17 billion (USD 22.4bn/EUR 20.1bn) investments in wind energy expected to come to the Eastern Irish Sea under the Round 4 process, the press statement says.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.320/EUR 1.187)