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Industry response to the Government’s Energy Security Strategy
The Government’s Energy Security Strategy has caused quite a stir in the UK, with increased ambitions for renewable energy production. This major acceleration towards “homegrown power” is a direct response to both recent events in Ukraine and a growing appetite for clean energy over the past decade. For many in the clean energy sector, the new targets set out provide a welcome boost to the industry growth and go some way to encourage real progress in our journey to net-zero.
www.ogv.energy I May 2022
Reacting to the Energy Security Strategy, Nathan Bennett – Head of Public Affairs for RenewableUK – comments: “There was a lot of market-changing content in this latest Government strategy, not least of which was the increased target of offshore wind to 50GW and the doubling of ambitions for low carbon hydrogen. The new 5GW target for floating wind by 2030 is also really exciting. It comes after the latest Scotwind leasing round showed a pipeline of over 15GW of floating wind in Scotland and we’re already seeing significant growth in the Celtic Sea, which is a space with massive potential. We’re now clearly the largest market for this technology in the world. “This is especially important for companies who have begun, or are looking to transition from traditional energy sectors like oil and gas. The existing and extensive expertise in everything from mooring to dynamic cabling in the oil and gas sector will be crucial for the development, installation and realisation of renewables. The UK has long been acknowledged as the leader in the offshore wind space, but we will need the experience of traditional energy companies as the global race in floating wind against countries like Norway and France hots up.”
The Energy Security Strategy sets out some of the enabling factors that will see the UK fulfil the new and more ambitious targets for renewable energy production. These include planning reforms to reduce approval times by several years and get new offshore wind farms into construction faster. A taskforce is also being established, including RenewableUK, for floating wind to ensure that organisations have the support they need to successfully transfer into the green energy market. This will need to be accompanied by further collaboration between the devolved Governments of the UK. Nathan says: “These new targets are very ambitious, but targets are only as good as the enabling measures available. The Government strategy highlights some of the steps it will take to support anticipated growth across the industry, such as investment in the grid ahead of time and being more proactive in this area as the market expands. It also talks about streamlining consenting and planning procedures, and providing clearer mitigation standards and pathways to get sites approved for installation. This will certainly be a busy time for the sector, but early signs from the Government are encouraging to help make ambitions achievable. “There is a secondary conversation around how the UK can secure industry benefits of getting more gigawatts of energy production in the water. The government has started with £160 million port infrastructure and factory investment for floating wind and money for R&D, which has been complemented by private investment through organisations such as the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership. Nathan Bennett, Head of Public Affairs, RenewableUK
