The British government has set up a strategic review to find UK and European offshore wind industry opportunities in construction and staging facilities along the east coasts of England and Scotland.
Energy minister Andrea Leadsom has tasked Dong Energy’s UK chief Benj Sykes to lead the “short, focused review” that will report this summer.
It will identify opportunities to stimulate industrialisation in the UK supply chain on a long-term basis to compete with European rivals, while taking into account contract for difference offshore wind projects and new allocations up to 2020.
Other areas of the review include taking account of the coast’s relationship with cost reductions, the ability to stimulate opportunities around a facility and to “report on the commercial model and the actions needed to enable that location to develop to a timescale that unlocks the greatest amount of potential opportunity”.
The review is a joint DECC/industry initiative and others on it are: Halfdan Brustad from Statoil, Jonathan Cole from SPR, Paul Cooley from SSE, Jon Vatnaland from Statkraft, Paul Cowling from RWE, Piers Guy from Vattenfall, Adam Bruce from Mainstream and Sven Utermoehlen from Eon.
It will report to the joint government and industry led Offshore Wind Industry Council.
Image: Dong Energy’s Westermost Rough offshore wind farm off the UK’s east coast (Dong Energy)
Offshore review for UK east coast
Government-appointed task force to identify industrialisation opportunities
By EBS