Nine major energy companies and the Scottish Government have announced a £7.9 million collaboration on technology innovation to slash the cost of offshore wind, via the Carbon Trust''s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) programme.

Nine of Europe’s largest offshore wind developers: DONG Energy, EnBW, E.ON, Iberdrola, RWE, SSE, Statkraft, Statoil and Vattenfall have signed up to the initiative to help reduce the cost of offshore wind to below £100 per MWh by 2020.

Following recent doubts post-Brexit of UK’s ability to attract inward investment into renewables, and meet its EU 2020 renewables targets, the news represents a show of unity from European business, plus Scottish Government, in setting a clear trajectory for a cost-competitive, exportable offshore wind market.

By Jake Frith

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