Business owners from across north Wales attended an event at the Morlais Substation, Holyhead this month to promote their services to developers of tidal energy devices.
In a first of its kind event, four of the companies who have secured berths at the Anglesey tidal energy project run by Menter Môn, shared insights and advice on opportunites and how local businesses could work with them.
The developers reaffirmed their commitment to using local suppliers as they build and deploy their devices off the Ynys Môn coast and as Morlais moves into the next phase.
A driving force behind this project since its inception is Gerallt Llewelyn Jones. A director with the company, he opened the event on Tuesday outlining his vision for Morlais and how ensuring local benefit has been the aim from day one.
He said: “Today was the culmination of several years’ hard work and it was fantastic to see so many local businesses gather at our substation to hear directly from the developers themselves, the range of opportunites that will become available here for them. We will be holding similar events in future, and I would encourage local companies to sign up and attend so they can get the support they need to win contracts linked to Morlais.”
Simon Cheeseman, sector lead, wave and tidal energy with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult chaired a panel discussion at the event. Reflecting on the day’s conversations he said: “The whole concept of Morlais as a pre-consented commercial site which allows developers to deploy their devices here is unique and an important step for the sector. It means they can focus on advancing their technologies, and it increases opportunites for collaboration – with each other as well as with local businesses and partners.
“We know that tidal energy has strong potential for home grown businesses – they want to get involved. And it’s not just engineering opportunites – we’ve heard today the range of services, products and support that’ll be needed. As Morlais brings in investment, Holyhead as a harbour town will also benefit and we look forward to seeing a positive ripple effect across many sectors and industries.”
The next supply chain event will take place at Llangefni on the 23rd of May, followed by a series of engagement activities planned across north Wales over the coming months. Businesses are encouraged to sign up to get the latest news and updates on the Morlais website.