Consumers will be better off with offshore wind-driven electricity system

A predominantly offshore wind powered electricity system could see consumers almost £70 better off per year from 2035, new research suggests.

Aurora Energy Research examined what impact various levels of offshore wind would have on consumer bills in a net zero power sector for Great Britain, compared to other low-carbon technologies.

It concluded that additional offshore wind is “a key pillar of a decarbonised GB power system”.

The analysis found that consumers could save around £68 a year with a net zero electricity system in 2035 that was predominantly offshore wind powered versus a net zero system with no further CFD-backed offshore wind development.

The research, commissioned by Renewable UK, modelled different energy system scenarios that the UK could hypothetically pursue by 2035.

It found that options such as relying more heavily on importing power from abroad via interconnectors or generating high amounts of electricity using gas turbines increases the costs of running the system, compared to a high offshore wind-powered system.

Furthermore, it found that a scenario in which the UK scraps its net zero ambitions in favour of unabated gas would leave consumers £39 a year worse off and also leave billpayers exposed to the risk of being over £133 worse off annually if the UK were to experience sustained high gas prices, as in recent years.

As part of the research, an Opinium poll of more than 10,000 UK voters found more than three quarters (79%) want political parties to work together to create a consensus on maximising investment in clean power.

This support exists in the current voters of all political parties, with 81% of Conservatives, 86% of Labour, 89% of Lib Dem, 82% of SNP and 69% of Reform voters in support.

Malavika Gode, senior associate, UK & Ireland advisory, at Aurora Energy Research, said: “Based on the findings, the team at Aurora Energy Research found that additional offshore wind capacity is one of the key pillars of a decarbonised GB power system.

“A power system with a substantial amount of offshore wind can provide a buffer against global gas price volatility.”

Renewable UK’s chief executive Dan McGrail said: “Aurora’s research shows that shifting to an energy system dominated by offshore wind and renewables is the best decision for billpayers – and that’s including all the costs involved in managing the variable generation of renewables, such as storage and network upgrades.

“That’s why we’re calling for a consensus among all political parties on the need to focus on maximising private investment in renewables in every annual auction for new contracts to generate clean power. We hope the manifestos of all the main parties will reflect the high level of public support for moving faster on renewables.

“The UK should be much more ambitious about the number of wind farms we confirm each year, sending a positive signal to investors in new projects and manufacturers in new supply chains, as well as securing cheap electricity for billpayers and boosting our energy security.

“The research is also clear that scrapping net zero policies would leave billpayers worse off, and more exposed to volatile international gas prices.”