UK Government injects £31m worth of investment to encourage offshore wind innovation
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Innovators developing the floating offshore wind technology which will generate clean renewable energy from the windiest areas around the UK’s coastline are to receive a funding boost of more than £31 million from the UK Government.
Projects based in Scotland will each receive up to £10 million for floating offshore wind research that will help maintain the UK as a clean energy world leader and accelerate the shift to renewable electricity that is reducing the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to volatility in global wholesale energy prices.
The UK is already home to the world’s largest deployment of offshore wind, but floating turbines, which can be deployed in deeper waters than conventional turbines, will boost energy capacity even further by allowing wind farms to be situated in new parts of the seas around the UK coastline where wind strengths are their highest and most productive.
Making the most of the deep waters off the Scottish coast offers huge opportunities for Scotland’s coastal communities, building on its lead as a technology hub for offshore wind.
By stimulating development now, the costs of building and locating floating turbines in deep-water areas will come down faster, build up the UK supply chain and support the UK Government target of delivering 1GW of energy through floating offshore wind by 2030.
Government funding will be matched by more than £30 million of industry funding, with projects in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as across regions in England set to benefit.
UK energy, clean growth and climate change minister Greg Hands said: “We are already a world leader in offshore wind and floating technology is key to unlocking the full potential of our coastlines.
“Deep waters around Scotland offer huge potential for deploying this key technology and these innovative Scottish projects will help us expand renewable energy further and faster.”
UK Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord added: "Scotland is uniquely placed to lead the way in wind power. That's why this investment from the UK Government, matched by industry, is so important.
“Not only will it contribute to the UK's net zero ambitions, it will create and support thousands of high-quality jobs as we transition towards a more sustainable future."
Today’s announcement follows support for floating offshore wind in the fourth allocation round of the Contracts for Difference scheme – the Government’s flagship renewable energy support scheme – where £24 million a year has been ringfenced for this emerging technology. It also follows an announcement by the Prime Minister in October for £160 million funding to develop and build new large-scale floating offshore wind ports and factories in the UK.
Ben Miller, senior policy manager at industry group Scottish Renewables, said: “This funding adds to the momentum around floating offshore wind power after last week’s ScotWind outcome set out almost 15GW of new floating projects entering development in Scotland.
“Targeted funding like this is essential if we are to capture the supply chain benefits of our leading position on floating wind, building on the considerable deep-water expertise that we already have.
“Industry and government will both need to step up efforts over the coming months to match our ambitions with greater collaboration.”
