RenewableUK has welcomed the publication of a new report on the economic benefits of offshore wind energy by the Institute for Public Policy Research.
The study urges Government to ensure that the UK reaps the enormous economic benefits offered by the offshore wind sector by introducing further policies to encourage long-term growth. In particular, it suggests that a 2030 decarbonisation target for the power sector should be set as soon as possible, alongside an EU-wide renewable energy target for 2030. It also says the Government should extend the financial support package for renewables (the Levy Control Framework) into the 2020s to provide greater clarity for investors, and lengthen the duration of the upcoming Contracts for Difference (CfDs) from 15 years to the entire lifespan of each wind energy project (20-25 years). The report also states that the offshore wind industry must ensure that progress is made on cost reduction as rapidly as possible.
Commenting on the study, RenewableUK’s Director of External Affairs, Jennifer Webber , said:
“This report makes a number of key recommendations which, if adopted by Government, would stimulate the healthy growth of the offshore wind industry not just for the rest of this decade, but also in the decade which follows. It rightly notes that we’ve made progress on the development of the UK supply chain in areas such as manufacturing foundations and electrical equipment, but we must ensure that we reap the full manufacturing benefits by bringing big offshore turbine factories to ports around the UK rather than seeing them sited elsewhere in Europe.
“The Government is making progress in defining the investment climate for renewables between now and 2020 by setting out the details of Electricity Market Reform. As the IPPR study suggests, Government needs to follow up on this by articulating a long term vision to show the direction of travel beyond 2020, to increase the number of investors and entrepreneurs we are attracting into this vibrant sector. Clear targets stimulate confidence, and the further they stretch into the future, the greater the sense of trust generated. Meanwhile the offshore wind industry will continue to build on the steps we are already taking to drive down costs significantly”.
The publication of the study comes in the week following the official opening of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, London Array, by the Prime Minister David Cameron on 4th July. On the same day, Inch Cape Offshore Ltd announced that it had submitted a consent application to Marine Scotland to develop a 1,050 megawatt offshore wind farm in the outer Firth of Tay, as part of The Crown Estate’s Scottish Territorial Waters licensing programme.
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Press release, July 9, 2013; Image: vattenfall