Overview

The UK has an obligation under the EU Renewables Directive to derive 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Depending on level of take-up of renewables for transport, heating, etc, this equates to approximately 32% of the UK’s electricity being generated from renewable sources by 2020. Offshore wind energy is expected to provide a large share of this increase in renewable generation capacity.

Round 3 projects are intended to create, as described in the Strategic Environmental Assessment carried out by the Government, an additional 25GW of UK offshore wind energy generation capacity by 2020 in the UK Renewable Energy Zone and English and Welsh Territorial Waters. This is in addition to the 8GW in operation or in development under Rounds 1 and 2. To put this in context, the largest coal-fired power station in the UK (and in Western Europe), Drax power station, has a capacity of 4GW. National Grid’s seven-year statement reveals an aggregate total generating capacity in the UK of 84GW for 2009-10, so we are talking about roughly 30% of the total UK installed capacity. The projects will be immense, with a new generation of larger turbines and requiring capital investment on a huge scale. The related issues, such as the creation of an offshore transmission regime and supply chain constraints, are equally challenging.