Coinciding with the Global Offshore Wind 2012 conference Electrical Review visited yesterday in London, two reports – released by the Crown Estates and government-set-up Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Task Force – suggested the costs of offshore wind farms could be cut by almost a third by the end of the decade.
Costs could be cut by 30% by measures including introducing bigger turbines, mass-producing the deep water foundations the turbines need, involving suppliers early and improving wind farm designs, the study said. The price drop would reduce the cost of using offshore wind by more than £3bn a year, and could potentially generate one fifth of the UK’s electricity – in line with government targets.
The Crown Estates study also called for greater competition in the supply and installation of turbines and foundations from within the UK, Europe and the Far East.
Over 100 companies and organisations took part in the nine-month long study to develop evidence on the potential for cost reduction in offshore wind. Industry identified four pathways to achieve cost reduction – through combinations of improvements in technology, growth of the supply chain, and reductions in the cost of finance. Overall, the study showed the cost of offshore wind energy could reduce to below £100 per megawatt hour or less through three of the identified pathways provided at least 17-18 GW of capacity is built out by 2020.
Maria McCaffery MBE, chief executive of RenewableUK, organiser of the Global Offshore Wind conference, said: “These ground-breaking reports from The Crown Estate and the Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Task Force work represent a crucial step forward. Both studies show that driving down costs is much more than a mere aspiration – the industry is working closely with key stakeholders such as The Crown Estate to chart the course ahead, laying out action plans which are credible and achievable. This will enable the sector to grow from strength to strength – not only generating low-carbon electricity and giving us a secure supply of energy, but also creating tens of thousands of jobs and revitalising manufacturing throughout the UK.”
As Benj Sykes, director of UK Wind Operations at Dong Energy, said following the release of the reports, although we are now seeing good progress in identifying ways to reduce the cost of offshore wind, “the timeline is tough so the task force must now work on implementing the ideas in their report.”
