Global confidence in UK’s offshore renewable capability continues to grow

"Momentum isn’t just building, it’s gathering serious pace"

Last year, we were on the cusp of a renewables revolution. This year, we find ourselves right in the middle of one following two major developments that will have wide-reaching implications for how the UK will generate and deliver power in the months and years ahead.

These announcements, made in quick succession, have delivered the biggest vote of confidence yet in the country’s renewables credentials – and in the process provided us the clearest view so far of how the clean growth revolution will pan out in the UK.

GE Renewable Energy’s five-year agreement to test two of the most important developments in its wind portfolio at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s facilities in the north east of England is a tremendous boost to the country’s reputation as a hotbed for development in the industry. It not only validates our capability to test technology, but it helps the UK supply chain grow, further demonstrating our potential as a global leader in an incredibly competitive environment.

That news came hot on the heels of an announcement by the offshore wind sector that it was committed to working with the UK government on a sector deal that could generate £48 billion in new investments in the country’s infrastructure – and boost the nation’s offshore wind capacity to 30GW by 2030.

And all of this follows the UK government’s announcement last year, in its industrial strategy, that it is to champion innovation in clean energy as one of the country’s four main economic drivers.

Momentum isn’t just building, it’s gathering serious pace.

Of course, there will be some immediate impact from these developments, but it is only when we look to the horizon that we begin to realise the true effect they will have on the UK.

And we look to that horizon from a position of strength.

Already we have the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world and that is set to continue. With offshore wind already competitive with other forms of energy generation, the move to larger turbines will see the cost per MW drop even further.

Perhaps the most exciting element of the clean energy revolution is the tech that will sit alongside it.

ORE Catapult has been working with a network of highly responsive SMEs and start-up companies across the UK, who are capturing the imagination by driving forward the development of robotics, AI and digital twinning technologies. These solutions, which can be applied to every stage in a turbine’s lifecycle, are already attracting global attention, not least for their ingenuity.

From moving us away from expensive rare-earth magnets to cheap, abundantly-available ferrite solutions, to fully automated drones with their own self-navigating motherships, we are seeing innovation on a scale never seen before in the energy sector.

The results are tangible. Already, we’ve seen job growth from this work, but GE’s announcement and the commitment on the sector deal propels the jobs potential for this country onto another level – that’s not to mention the possibilities associated with exporting technology and skills to other nations now catching up with the clean energy revolution.

Industry analysis suggests reaching 30GW by 2030 will see the industry support 27,000 well paid, highly-skilled jobs – double the existing workforce. Aberdeen, Liverpool, Hull, Isle of Wight, Barrow, East Anglia and the North East of England have already felt the benefit of the growing renewables sector – and we see that benefit spreading even further.

There are, without question, challenges we still have to overcome if we are to achieve these goals.

Most pressingly is the need to consistently produce a highly-skilled and diverse workforce, essential if we are to have a competitive edge in the global marketplace. Yes, the offshore wind industry has moved from a young, disruptive influence on the energy sector to an established and vital part of the UK’s economy – but we must have the skills framework and facilities to ensure the continued delivery of talent required to maintain our cutting edge.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is how we integrate new technology onto the Grid whilst keeping the costs of doing so down. Energy storage is perhaps the key enabler of that technology as we look to ensure we can make the most of the clean, abundant energy offshore wind delivers, and it is pleasing to see that the sector is looking to address this challenge directly.

It’s at this point it is worth remembering that the cost of electricity produced from offshore wind halved between 2015 and 2017. At this rate, overcoming those and other challenges isn’t just a possibility – it’s absolutely within our grasp.