The offshore wind farm business is blowing hot in the UK as the government plans to install 40GW of offshore wind by 2030. Of offshore wind farms globally the UK has the largest (1.3 GW Hornsea 2) and second largest (1.2 GW Hornsea 1) and has just begun construction on what will be the largest wind farm in the world: the mammoth 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm. With more offshore areas being opened up for investment, the business is only going to grow further. But who are the developers that have made this growth in offshore wind possible?
1. Flotation Energy (Edinburgh)
Flotation energy is a forward looking firm that focuses on where the industry is going, not where it is. Their primary development focus is floating offshore wind and energy storage in different forms including hydrogen, batteries, compressed air and flywheels. They work in the present too and have recently been awarded leasing rights on the 480MW Morecambe project in the Irish sea. This was awarded in a joint venture with Cobra. With offices in Taiwan, Japan, Australia and the UK they are a developer to watch for the future.
2. Iberdrola / Scottish Power Renewable Energy (Glasgow)
Iberdrola and its subsidiaries is the biggest renewable energy developer in the world with an 82GW renewable energy pipeline. The primary focus of the group has traditionally been onshore renewables with onshore wind, solar photovoltaic and hydroelectric comprising the majority of its assets. However, due to large investments in offshore wind projects globally they are becoming a leader in offshore wind too with a UK offshore wind pipeline of over 10GW including the immense 3.1GW East Anglia Hub. Globally they have projects on the east and west coasts of the US, in the Baltic sea, off the coast of Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan.
3. Green Investment Group (GIG) (London)
The Green Investment Group is a subsidiary of Macquarie that focuses on the investment and development of the mature renewable technologies: wind and solar. They have recently broadened their investment approach to include project management and acquisitions of specialist businesses. They have a development pipeline of over 30GW across over 240 projects. They are also developing new approaches to integrate battery storage into grids. GIG recently completed their 40% stake in the 714 MW East Anglia ONE (EA1) offshore wind farm.
Image Source: Unsplash, 07.04.2022
