UK Energy White Paper boosts offshore wind

A task force will be established to lower the cost of producing offshore wind from the current £140 – £170 per megawatt hour down to approximately £100 per megawatt hour by 2020. If achieved, this will make the sector more cost competitive with other sources of power and reduce the need for long term subsidy.

There will be provision of up to £30m of direct Government support for offshore wind cost reduction over the next four years, working through the Offshore Wind Developers Forum to support the development of the supply chain alongside action to encourage new manufacturing facilities at port sites. There is a promise to manage conflicts with oil and gas exploration, provide greater certainty over financial incentives, and ensure timely and coordinated development of the grid through the Offshore Transmission Coordination Project.

The document, which prepares the ground for £110bn of energy infrastructure investment over the next decade, was accompanied by a 107 page Renewable Energy Roadmap. It describes plans to boost renewables output in order to meet the target of 15% of all UK energy from green sources by 2020.

Marine energy (wave and tidal) will see the provision of up to £20m over the next four years to support innovation in wave and tidal devices and commission marine energy testing facilities at the National Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) early in 2012. The Government will work with The Crown Estate to introduce a knowledge sharing network to accelerate the level of marine energy deployment and provide guidance to the sector by March 2012 to help develop Marine Energy Parks in order to stimulate the supply chain.

Presenting the White Paper, UK Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said, “We have a Herculean task ahead of us. The scale of investment needed in our electricity system in order to keep the lights on is more than twice the rate of the last decade. The fact is that the current electricity market is not able to meet that challenge. Without action, there is a risk of uncomfortably low capacity margins from the end of the decade and a far higher chance of costly blackouts.”

RenewableUK, Britain’s largest wind, wave and tidal energy association, welcomed the Government’s announcement of major offshore wind expansion.

The organisation’s chief executive, Maria McCaffery said, “The Secretary of State’s announcement provides a huge boost to the wind industry. It will increase investor confidence, allowing the sector to expand more rapidly. This will enhance the UK’s capacity to generate clean, green energy to meet our CO2 reduction targets, creating a low carbon economy. There will be massive growth in jobs as a result of this expansion. Our evidence based studies show that 90,000 people will be working in the wind and marine energy sector in ten years time. Today’s announcement will allay several industry concerns and provide a basis for continued engagement between industry and Government.”