Harnessing the vast potential of the UK's island status
entered a new phase as Energy Secretary John
Hutton announced proposals to open up its seas to up to 33GW
(gigawatts) of offshore wind energy. He also
announced that he will
chair a panel of experts to advise him on renewable energy,
underscoring the UK Government's determination to play its part in
meeting the EU target of 20% renewable energy by 2020.
Speaking to the European energy industry in Berlin, Mr Hutton
launched a Strategic Environmental Assessment of the seas surrounding
the UK, paving the way for a possible 'third round' of wind energy
development and beyond:
"The draft plan I'm setting out today could allow companies to
develop up to 25 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2020, in addition to the
8 gigawatts already planned.
"This potential major expansion will be subject to the outcome
of a Strategic Environmental Assessment. But if we could manage to
achieve this, by 2020 enough electricity could be generated off our
shores to power the equivalent of all of the UK's homes. This could be
a major contribution towards meeting the EU's target of 20% of energy
from renewable sources by 2020.
"The challenge for Government and for industry is to turn this
potential - for our energy and economy - into a cost-effective reality.
This will be a major challenge.
"The UK has some of the best offshore wind resource in the
world, a long history of design, installation and operational expertise
in the offshore environment and the skills and manufacturing capability
to transfer to this exciting new sector.
"The UK is now the number one location for investment in
offshore wind in the world and next year we will overtake Denmark as
the country with the most offshore wind capacity. I want to ensure the
UK remains one of the best places for renewable business.
"Our trajectory on renewables is beyond question. They are as
central to our future low carbon economy as chimneys were to the
industrial revolution and road building following the invention of the
mass produced car."
The 'first round' of offshore wind farms, in 2001, comprised a
number of small demonstration projects. The 'second round', in 2003,
resulted in the award of options for leases for larger scale projects
in three designated areas - the Thames Estuary, the Greater Wash and
the North West. Based on current plans under the first and second
leasing rounds, about 8GW of capacity could be operational by around
2014. This includes the 1GW London Array which is the largest planned
offshore wind farm in the world.
The proposal for a possible 'third round', and further regular
rounds, of offshore wind development announced today would open up the
vast bulk of the UK's continental shelf to large scale development. It
would allow for up to a further 25GW of offshore capacity on top of the
planned 8GW. In total this could generate enough power for up to 25
million homes by 2020.
Mr Hutton announced that he will chair an enhanced Renewable
Advisory Board with a bigger remit to advise the Government on the EU
2020 renewable energy target, and a wider pool of expertise to help
deal with the issues and opportunities across renewable energy.
The Government is also working on a regulatory regime to
ensure that all offshore projects can connect to our onshore
electricity transmission and distribution networks, quickly, securely
and as cheaply as possible. A response to the recent consultation will
be published by BERR shortly.
These developments sit alongside plans in the Energy Bill, to
be introduced shortly, to 'band' the support provided by the Renewables
Obligation to give greater support to offshore wind, wave and tidal
energy. This will incentivise the expansion envisaged by today's
proposals.
The amount of electricity from renewable sources of all kinds
in the UK has doubled to almost 5% since the introduction of the
Renewables Obligation in 2002. Current forecasts will see a further
tripling to around 15% by 2015. Plans are also under way for a
feasibility study into the potential for electricity generation from
the Severn Estuary.
At the Spring European Council the EU agreed a target of 20%
of all energy from renewables by 2020. This includes fuel for
electricity, heat and transport. The Commission is due to propose how
that target should be apportioned between Member States in January.
Posted 11th December 2007
|
