The UK’s offshore wind market now has more than 10GW of offshore electricity following two new project announcements, according to RenewableUK.
DONG Energy announced its final investment decision to build Walney Extension offshore wind farm off the coast of Cumbria.
This was followed by RWE Innogy announcing its new project partners for the Galloper offshore windfarm in Suffolk.
“Britain is the number one destination for offshore wind investors. The two major announcements of offshore wind projects have secured billions of pounds in investments,” said Dr Gordon Edge, RenewableUK’s director of policy for economics and regulation.
The announcements have doubled the current operation of just over 5GW and will meet the needs of more than 7m British homes. RenewableUK believe this consolidates Britain’s global lead in the offshore wind market.
Mr Edge said: “The Government’s advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change, is now recommending we install 1-2 GW of offshore wind a year throughout the 2020s to meet out carbon reduction goals, so we could reach as much as 30GW by 2030.
“Offshore wind is set to become cheaper than gas during the next decade, so it offers excellent value for money in terms of keeping bills down.”
“We’re also generating jobs, with 13,000 people already working in the industry – that could increase to 44,000 in less than 10 years,” he concluded.
By Alice Mason
