The country's upcoming offshore wind auction needs to secure record capacity if clean power targets are to be met within five years, a key voice in the industry has said.
Darren Davidson, vice president of Siemens Energy º£½ÇÊÓƵI, told the Reuters news agency: "To keep on track with (clean power 2030) targets, we estimate Allocation Round 7 will need to clear a record six GW of offshore wind capacity". The message comes as the Government has confirmed the tendering window for the Contracts for Difference round will be between August 7 and 27.
Mr Davidson, who is responsible for Siemens' turbine production operation in Hull and its Newcastle Parsons Works, which delivers grid infrastructure work, said such a pipeline would allow the business to invest. The comments echo evidence Mr Davidson gave to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee earlier this year, in which he encouraged the Government to stick to its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.
The backbone of that plan includes an ambition to create 43-50 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade, from its current base of about 15GW. While last year's auction round boasted a budget of £1.5bn awarded 5.34GW of capacity, one of the largest component schemes - the Hornsea 4 wind farm in the North Sea - has since been abandoned by Danish developer Ørsted which cited rising costs and risk around the timeline for construction.
Last month, a report from sector body Offshore Energies º£½ÇÊÓƵ (OEº£½ÇÊÓƵ) warned that without action to address price inflation, capital cost and º£½ÇÊÓƵ supply chain competitiveness, the º£½ÇÊÓƵ will fail to meet its 2030 target. It said that while the º£½ÇÊÓƵ sector had the potential to become a major exporter, to meet its own end of decade objectives, it needed to award more than 8GW of new licences.
OEº£½ÇÊÓƵ suggested that on its current trajectory, the country would meet only 35GW of capacity by 2030. Thibaut Cheret, the trade association's wind and renewables manager, said: "Meeting the Government’s 2030 target of 43 and 51 GW of installed offshore wind capacity means securing £15bn of private investment in offshore wind each and every year between now and 2030. The Government’s next Contract for Difference auction in Allocation Round 7, which incentivises new low carbon electricity generating projects, will need to secure historic levels of renewable energy procurement. AR7 needs to clear a record 8.4GW of offshore wind capacity to maintain the course toward CP30.â€
In recent months, Mr Davidson told BusinessLive how the Newcastle Parsons Works site had been redeveloped to handle different elements of energy transition work, with a key focus on electricity grid work including designing of substations. He said about two thirds of offshore wind equipment currently in the North Sea was produced by the Siemens Energy's wind power subsidiary, Siemens Gamesa.
