The UK offshore wind industry is on target to meet a £100/MWh goal by 2020, according to RenewableUK.
R-UK cited a report – the second Cost Reduction Monitoring Framework – published today by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult on behalf of the Offshore Wind Programme Board.
It said the report “provided strong evidence that the cost of energy from offshore wind continued to fall through 2015 and remains on track to deliver the target of £100/MWh by 2020”.
There are 13 cost reduction indicators analysed in the report, with all but one ahead or on target with 2015 goals.
The only measure that is not on target is growth and scale.
R-UK said the report’s findings show that industry has already adopted innovations not previously expected to drive cost reduction until 2017, particularly turbine design and project maintenance.
It said the report shows that investment in turbine technology has delivered “significant cost benefits, but that further reduction will need to come from the innovations in ‘balance of plant’, such as foundations, cables and substations”.
But R-UK added the report said investment in research and development and manufacturing industrialisation to deliver the improvements, “will only come with greater visibility of future rates of deployment and market size as government sets out details of contracts for new offshore wind farms”.
OWIC industry co-chair Benj Sykes (pictured) said: “We are very confident that we cannot only reach our £100/MWh milestone, but go beyond this to become fully cost competitive with other generation technologies.
“The report shows that further clarity on the timing and volume of future Contract for Difference auctions, and the longer term capacity requirements out to 2030 and beyond, is essential for the industry to galvanise the activity that will deliver further innovation and cost reductions.”
ORE Catapult chief executive officer Andrew Jamieson said: “This report sets out a clear pathway to further cost reduction through technology innovation and collaboration to ensure that Britain continues to reap both economic and environmental benefits.”
Image: Dong
