The Irish and Celtic seas are some of the region’s most valuable for offshore wind and renewable energy development. As the number of projects increases, so do the challenges of local consenting.
The Irish and Celtic Seas consenting route
The consenting route for an offshore renewable project and its associated onshore infrastructure in these regions is complex. Depending on the scale of the project and whether and what components of the offshore wind farm are wholly within Welsh inshore or offshore waters, wholly within English waters or straddling Welsh/English waters, there are different authorities with consenting powers. These can include the Secretary of State, the Welsh Ministers, Natural Resource Wales, the Marine Management Organisation and Local Planning Authorities. This complexity is reflected in Welsh Government guidance for projects that span Welsh and English waters in PINS Advice Note 11 (Annex A – Natural Resources Wales).
Deep local expertise
As the Welsh offshore wind industry continues to mature rapidly, there is an even greater need for a clear and consistent consenting approach. Working with the right partner to help navigate these complex regulatory requirements is essential. Tetra Tech is an established local consultancy with specialist regulatory and subject matter knowledge and experience of working in complex marine environments.
Our team has a deep understanding of these consenting regimes to successfully navigate them and deliver projects in the region to support the long-term sustainability of the industry.
Our extensive team, based in Wales and the South West England, understand the need to work together, with the local regulatory regimes, local stakeholders, and partners to smoothly deliver successful outcomes for developers. The breadth of experience of our regulatory and subject matter experts facilitates knowledge transfer through the lessons we’ve learned in each market – ensuring the latest innovations, research and development, and scientific understanding enables detailed discussion with each of these authorities and interested parties before any conclusions are drawn and the right technical solution(s) applied.
Based in Chepstow, Cardiff and Bristol, our teams have undertaken several offshore wind and marine renewable projects in the Irish and Celtic Seas. We are currently delivering the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and habitat regulation assessment (HRA) for the Mona (and Morgan) offshore wind farm projects for the bp and EnBW consortium in the Irish Sea. And in South Wales we recently delivered the EIA, planning and consent applications required for both the Pembroke Dock Infrastructure and the Marine Energy Testing Area (META) projects – two of the four pillars of the Pembroke Dock Marine collaborative project, to support the development of the marine energy industry in Wales. We were also previously the EIA lead for the Atlantic Array wind farm for RWE and Ormonde wind farm for Vattenfall.
How our team can support your development needs
Tetra Tech’s extensive offshore wind experience includes 20 years at the forefront of the industry, working across the UK, Europe, America, and Asia Pacific. We’ve supported both floating and fixed foundation offshore wind projects, and we have deep experience in the provision of technical consultancy and operational support for the energy sector.
We employ some of the world’s best offshore talent, with deep local and international expertise to deliver confident, reliable, pragmatic solutions to avoid permitting and regulatory bottlenecks. We understand there are, and will continue to be, many competing resource needs of the regulatory agencies and for developers. Tetra Tech continues to grow to meet our clients’ needs – to ensure the best and most knowledgeable experts in the field are available to move the process of developing offshore wind projects forward, at pace, to meet future demand.
Tetra Tech has an excellent understanding of offshore wind in the Irish and Celtic Seas and has worked in these areas under the DCO system and Welsh marine licensing through NRW-MLT. As a result, our team has excellent relationships with local stakeholders and interested parties, and of the data associated with the offshore environment in the area, as well as excellent knowledge of the onshore environment through our work on the onshore elements of these projects.
Tetra Tech explores key challenges for developers. Our offshore wind consultancy team provides solutions and insights for developing in the Celtic Sea.
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About the authors
Nicola Simpson
Nicola Simpson is Director of Offshore Renewables and Marine Consenting and Environment, EAME.
She works across core services in the UK and Europe. As a member of Tetra Tech’s Renewable Energy Global Strategic Initiative, she collaborates with our leaders in the US, and Australia and Asia Pacific (AAP).
Nicola’s clients span renewable energy, transmission, conventional power, and energy storage across marine consenting, compliance, and environmental services. She has over 20 years’ experience in offshore wind, including Environmental Impact Assessment and site/route selection. She is also an experienced leader and grew her team from 16 to 75 people over three years to meet the growing market in offshore renewables and associated infrastructure.
Andrew Lucas
Andrew Lucas is a senior director for planning with more than 25 years of professional planning experience.
Andrew has experience in both public and private sectors, in particular managing large scale projects in the energy sector. In addition to being involved in a significant number of renewable energy projects of all scales throughout his career, he has worked on projects within the Development Consent Order (DCO) process since the inception of the 2008 Planning Act, including energy from waste, combined heat and power, offshore windfarm, nuclear, highways, and electricity transmission projects. He has extensive experience in assisting client project teams throughout all stages of the planning process.
Andrew is a Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. He has a Bachelor of Science (honours) degree in City and Regional Planning and a post-graduate Diploma in Town Planning from the University of Wales, Cardiff.
The project featured in this article was undertaken by RPS, A Tetra Tech Company and originally published on RPSgroup.com. In March 2026 RPS rebranded to Tetra Tech.