UK Government Says 25 GW of Extra Offshore Wind Power Up For Grabs

Offshore wind has the potential to provide the UK with up to 70 000 new jobs and £8bn in annual revenues. The new licensing regime for the cables to connect offshore wind farms to the mainland also began on Wednesday.

The competitive tender process, run by Ofgem, has the potential to save generators GBP1bn ($1.66bn) by getting the best deal. It will also attract new entrants with transmission expertise and, offer longer term stable investment opportunity.

Lord Hunt, Energy and Climate Change Minister said at the British Wind Energy Association wind conference: "Offshore wind is fundamental to delivering our target of 15 per cent of renewable energy by 2020, and looking ahead to 2050 to reducing our carbon emissions by 80 per cent.

"We're already the world's number one offshore wind power. With the right support, we can grow the industry even further, supporting tens of thousands of high value, green manufacturing jobs. This presents a huge opportunity for the UK Industry."

The Crown Estate launched Round 3 of offshore wind in June 2008. This decision means they can proceed with negotiations and award development rights to the market.  Any proposals for developments will be assessed by the relevant authorities to ensure they are located in appropriate places.

The UK government also published on Wednesday 'A Prevailing Wind: Advancing UK Offshore Wind Deployment'. The document sets out work that will enable the necessary expansion of the industry.

Rob Hasting, Director of the Marine Estate at the Crown Estate said: "The Crown Estate is delighted that 25 GW has been confirmed and also agreement on the 'Go-Active' date has been reached for the offshore transmission regime.

"These are significant milestones in delivering one of the major components of the UK's offshore renewable energy programme, including Round 3 of offshore wind which combined with Rounds 1 and 2 aims to deliver 33 GW by 2020, a quarter of the UK electricity needs."

Following a four year consultation, companies will now be able to bid to design, finance, construct and maintain the transmission assets. For existing projects they will bid to own and maintain the assets.

The National Grid's function as System Operator has now been extended to offshore and will play a key role in the development of the new regime. It will now be responsible for overseeing the connections to ensure that all generators that want to connect to the onshore grid can.

This regime is designed to be flexible to allow generators to choose when and how their projects are tendered. It will benefit consumers, through more cost effective electricity and help developers by removing risk and spreading the costs of their projects.

Manwhile, the UK intends to join the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shortly and aims to sign the official agreement as soon as possible. This underlines the commitment the UK has made in tackling climate change, and to supporting the cooperation and innovation that will be needed to accelerate the mass deployment of renewable energy technologies worldwide.

This article was republished with permission from Power Engineering. Power Engineering is part of the Renewable Energy World Network.