The UK now has more than 10GW of offshore wind capacity either operational or under construction, or with financial support fully secured, according to Renewable UK.
R-UK said RWE’s announcement today of new investors for the 336MW Galloper offshore wind farm and Dong Energy’s final investment decision earlier in the week to build 660MW Walney 3 extension consolidates Britain’s global lead in offshore wind.
However, if the UK want to continue to see large offshore wind projects built during the 2020s the government needs to provide a clear plan from showing how much capacity it wants built.
R-UK director of policy for economics and regulation Gordon Edge said: “We’ve had some encouraging signals so far, but we need details of how the financial framework is going to work for offshore wind to deliver at scale, as a key part of the Government’s industrial strategy.”
R-UK said the government’s advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change, is recommending we install 1-2 gigawatts of offshore wind a year throughout the 2020s to meet out carbon reduction goals, so we could reach as much as 30GW by 2030.
Image: the extension to the Walney offshore wind farm will help take the UK past 10GW (Dong Energy)
UK offshore on course for 10GW
Industry still needs a clear government plan for 2020s says R-UK
By EBS