Uncoordinated network investment putting wind ambitions at risk

Uncoordinated investment in network infrastructure risks undermining the government’s recently reaffirmed wind ambitions, the head of RWE’s UK business has warned.

Appearing virtually at Energy’s UK annual conference, country chair Tom Glover welcomed the recently launched review into the offshore transmission infrastructure regime but said investment also needs to be coordinated with the onshore network.

“The current framework for the offshore grid is not fit for purpose,” he remarked. “Delays to connections and a lack of onshore infrastructure could really undermine delivery of the 40GW target. The current point to point approach is resulting in planning issues relating to multiple landfall points and we risk undermining not only the good will but the incredible progress we’ve made if local people see multiple seemingly uncoordinated cable routes.”

“So,” he added, “it’s really encouraging the government have a strategic review of offshore grid that will come up with results by 2021. We need a new regime in place by 2023 at the latest if we are to meet the 2030 target.

“But this is not enough. Critically this offshore regime needs to be coordinated with the required onshore investments. It’s simple not good enough to only focus on coordinating offshore.

“We need to ensure the regulatory regime allows anticipatory investment in the onshore network for the offshore windfarms that will come, and we roughly know where they are going to come.”

Glover set out a raft of requirements he said would need to be fulfilled in order to meet the government’s targets of deploying 40GW offshore wind by 2030 and eventually reaching net zero emissions by the middle of the century.

On the subject of offshore wind, he said: “One thing we believe would boost supply chains and smooth the development process is a clear timetable for annual auctions and clarity on the volumes procured as far out as possible beyond 2030 to 2050.

“If you can hold annual auctions for capacity, you can do it for wind. And the sector needs the stability in the long term. It takes up to ten years to take offshore wind projects from initial lease to construction. We are already starting now to develop projects for the 2030s so we need certainty today.”

He continued: “The government’s ambitions can be particularly exciting for floating wind. Early and concentrated investment in a UK floating wind production and assembly facility is needed to allow the UK to deliver floating wind at scale and to capture potential export markets.

“We also strongly recommend the government’s proposal to include floating wind as a distinct technology class within the CfD regime and the commitment last week to have at least 1GW of floating wind by 2030. Floating wind is a necessity for the UK to meet net zero as fixed seabed deployment will become increasingly constrained.”

Glover said RWE expects floating wind to become competitive with fixed foundation turbines by 2030. He said the recently launched leasing round for seabed rights in Scotland offers “huge potential for the first commercial-scale floating wind project here in the UK.”

Whilst welcoming the prime minister’s recent enthusiasm for offshore wind, Glover also urged the government no to forget the “enormous potential” of onshore projects.

“The Committee on Climate Change has said we need 35GW of onshore wind by 2030 if we’re going to get to net zero, which means we need to deploy at a much faster rate – two to three times current deployment.

“Today there’s 5GW of shovel ready onshore projects in the pipeline, just waiting for a route to market. And these projects will be the ones that really help stimulate a post Covid-19 green recovery and create new jobs today. We estimate that 5GW of onshore wind could generate 18,000 during construction and around 8,500 during ongoing maintenance and operations.”

Earlier this year, the government announced it would hold the first Contracts for Difference auction for mature “pot 1” technologies for more than half a decade as part of the fourth allocation round in 2021. Glover said ministers should go further by committing to regular auctions every year and setting more ambitious caps. He said the caps should be set at 4GW or more if the auctions are held every other year or at least 2GW if they are annual.

Lastly, he noted that the German government has put forward a “detailed, credible, and – most importantly – funded hydrogen strategy” and the UK should do so too.