In April 2022, the UK offshore wind sector welcomed the announcement of ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Energy Security Strategy. The plan is to increase offshore wind development to 50GW by the year 2030, including a sub-target of 5GW for floating wind projects and 10GW for hydrogen.
In order to achieve this target, the British government aims to introduce policies that will reduce the time taken in the planning process which currently takes 4 years. However, it is clear further work will be required to develop the UK’s grid infrastructure to handle the increased energy output.
The Holistic Network Design – Pathway to 2030 has been implemented to organise the transmission links for the upcoming 23GW of offshore wind projects and requires a £7.6bn investment. The potential this region possesses has enticed the largest global developers of wind energy to acquire sites to develop large-scale projects through government tenders.
1) ScottishPower Renewables (Scotland)
The Iberdola-managed group is focused on the development of wind projects across the UK, including their offshore locations at West of Duddon Sands and East Anglia. ScottishPower in cooperation with Shell were also responsible for the development of the world’s first floating offshore wind farm in northeast Scotland.
In July 2022, the renewables group announced the acquisition of 16 wind and solar projects through Contracts for Difference (CfDs) including the 1.4GW East Anglia 3 offshore wind farm. The projects have a total installed capacity of 2.1GW and the landmark deal doubles the current capacity of the Scottish group.
2) EDP Renewables (Spain)
In October 2021, the Spanish group announced their plans to invest up to £660m in UK wind and solar as well as €1.5m to their Ocean Winds joint venture with Engie by 2025. By 2025, EDP aim to have 5-7GW in operation or construction and 5-10GW of projects in the latter stages of development.
In July 2022, their joint venture laid out plans to develop 2GW of Caledonia offshore wind as part of the ScotWind leasing round. The Caledonia project is located nearby to fellow OceanWinds offshore wind projects, Moray West and East. The two sites have an installed capacity of 950MW and 850MW respectively, with the former having received approval for contract of difference in July 2022. The Moray West site has also confirmed a PPA with Chinese manufacturer Dajn Heavy Industry, which will cover 350MW of the total capacity which is due to be completed by 2024.
3) Simply Blue Group (Ireland)
The Cork-based wind developer has played a role in the development of 9GW worth of offshore wind projects. The latest of these was announced in June 2022 with their second wind farm located off the coast of County Down. Their 1.3GW Olympic wind project will be a cornerstone for Northern Ireland in the transition to a net-zero future.
The first project completed by Simply Blue in this region was their floating wind project co-developed with MJM Renewables. The Nomadic project uses floating offshore wind technology which enables the turbines to be secure in deeper areas with higher wind production without risking damage from shorelines, fishing ground, and shipping. The wind farm will have an installed capacity of 500MW and once fully operational, the Simply Blue Group will aim to connect the project to support a Green Energy project which will produce hydrogen energy.
Image Source Unsplash 13.07.22
