Offshore wind co-ordination could save the UK £3.5 billion

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and energy regulator Ofgem have today published a report showing how £3.5 billion could be saved through more co-ordination in the offshore wind sector.

The Government’s Renewable Energy Roadmap suggests that by 2020, between 11 and 18GW of wind farm capacity could be built off Britain’s coast, compared to the 1.6GW that exists today. 

Earlier this month, the UK opened the world’s largest offshore wind farm, capable of supplying up to 320,000 households with renewable power each year, off the coast of Cumbria. The government believes that wind farms such as the Walney farm project will be seen as a precedent for future wind farms that will be substantially larger and further offshore than the majority of existing developments. Instead of building individual connections for each development, larger wind farms have the potential to be interlinked to lower the overall construction and operating costs. This would mean the offshore network could grow incrementally and efficiently.

This coordinated approach could reduce the cost of offshore connections by between 8 and 15 percent, or £0.5 - 3.5 billion, while at the same time helping the government achieve its target of reducing the cost of offshore wind to £100 per mega watt hour (MWh) by 2020. The initiative could also pave the way for an offshore network in the North Sea linking wind farms off Britain’s coast to other European countries, according to the DECC.

“There are a number of ways we can reduce the cost of offshore wind, and this is definitely one of the most exciting, said the UK’s Minister of State for Energy, Charles Hendry.

“Linking up power cables between offshore wind farms could make some serious savings, so we would be crazy not to encourage it. These cables could even be linked up to European projects, increasing opportunities for trading electricity. I now look forward to seeing the package of measures announced today implemented, and to see them build on the cost savings already being made through bringing in competition and new entrants into this sector.”

The measures announced today are intended to clarify how co-ordination can be achieved. Ofgem would assess whether anticipatory investment is beneficial to the development of an efficient network. Approval would also depend on other factors. For example, developers and the system operator would have to show that there is demand for capacity to be built, and that there is a robust benefits case for customers. In time, these changes could potentially be adapted to also help the development of a European offshore network if this does materialise.

 

Images: Climate Action Stock Photos