Britain is Running Out of Space for Offshore Wind, Warns GB Energy Boss
Britain is running out of space for offshore wind farms, the boss of GB Energy has warned, jeopardising Ed Miliband’s Net Zero renewables drive, with floating turbines cost four times as much. The Telegraph has more.
Dan McGrail, Interim Chief Executive of the taxpayer-backed quango set up by the Energy Secretary, said UK waters are becoming too crowded for traditional turbines built in shallower seas.
As a result, he said officials must spend billions of pounds on new floating wind farms if it is to have any hope of hitting Net Zero by 2050.
Unlike fixed-bottom turbines, which can only be deployed in water less than 60-70 metres deep, floating alternatives can be tethered to the bottom of the seabed by cables.
This makes them the only real option for Mr Miliband as he races to build up to 10,000 new wind turbines by 2050.
“We know by 2030 that pretty much every offshore wind farm in the UK is going to have to be in water which is deeper than 80 metres,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg.
“Now that’s quite a technical point, but basically what it means is that those wind farms are going to have to float, which is an area of investment that is, at the moment, quite challenging.
“There’s a significant amount of private sector capital deployed, but it’s slowing down in its progress, so we’re going to look to come in at that riskier stage of projects in their development phase.”
The prospect of more state-backed investment in offshore wind will inevitably be felt by consumers, as the industry is reliant on subsidies paid for by households in the form of levies.
Such levies have so far supported the installation of 2,824 wind turbines in 44 wind farms around the UK’s coasts, according to trade body RenewableUK.
Mr McGrail now hopes these will be complemented by thousands of more floating turbines, some up to 900ft high.
However, cost remains a barrier, as they are up to four times more expensive than traditional fixed-bottom turbines.
This is where GB Energy’s £8 billion funding pot can help, he said.
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