RenewableUK has welcomed a new study by financial analysts Ernst and Young which places the UK at the very top of the global list of countries in which to invest in offshore wind energy.
Ernst and Young’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index places the UK’s offshore wind sector above Germany, which had previously held the top spot but is now in second place. China is third, Belgium fourth and Denmark fifth.
The Environmental Finance Leader at Ernst and Young, Ben Warren , highlighted what he described as the UK’s “huge offshore wind potential”. He said “There has never been a better time to turn the UK into the go-to market for investment in renewable energy in Europe” . However he highlighted the need for the Energy Bill, which is currently going through parliament, to become law as soon as possible to provide clarity for investors.
RenewableUK’s Director of Offshore Renewables, Nick Medic, said:
“The UK’s offshore wind sector is at number one where it rightly belongs. The challenge now is to ensure that it stays there. The proposals in the Energy Bill, and a firm political consensus on the need to develop offshore wind energy, will be the deciding factors. Working together we can build a sector we are all proud off, leading the world in job creation, cleawn energy production and billions of pounds of continued investment”.
The UK currently has 3,321 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind energy installed – more than the rest of the world put together, and sufficient to power the equivalent of more than 2 million homes. The world’s largest offshore wind farm, London Array, went fully operational in April.
Next month, RenewableUK’s annual Offshore Wind conference will take place in Manchester; Michael Fallon MP, the recently appointed Energy Minister, will address the wind industry for the first time. The Shadow Energy Minister Tom Greatrex will also make a keynote speech. More than 3,000 delegates will attend, with over 150 companies exhibiting.
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Press release, May 29, 2013; Image: renewableuk