Siemens: Britain Needs Record Offshore Wind to Meet Targets

Britain’s next renewable energy auction must secure a record amount of new offshore wind capacity if the country is to meet its 2030 clean power targets, Darren Davidson, vice president of turbine maker Siemens Energy UK&I, told Reuters.

The country has put offshore wind at the heart of its plans to decarbonise its electricity sector by 2030. It aims to boost capacity to 43-50 gigawatts (GW) by the end of the decade, from around 15 GW at present, although a government report in November said it would be a challenge to reach that goal.

Britain holds annual auctions for renewable subsidies, offering a guaranteed minimum price for the electricity produced to help spur investment in new projects. Last year’s auction, AR6, offered 1.5 billion pounds ($2.03 billion) in funding, with just over 5 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity winning contracts.

"To keep on track with (clean power 2030) targets, we estimate AR7 will need to clear a record 6 GW of offshore wind capacity," Davidson said.

The largest amount of offshore wind capacity awarded contracts in auctions to-date was 5.46 GW in AR3 in 2019.

Davidson was talking at Siemens Gamesa’s turbine factory in Hull, northeast England, last week. Siemens Gamesa, which is Siemens Energy’s wind power business, has installed 10 GW of offshore wind turbines round the coast of Britain.

The Hull factory opened in 2016 and employs over 1,400 people, with 600 new employees recruited over the past 12 months as the site more than doubled its manufacturing capacity.

"The last five years have really proven that when we've got that visible pipeline of projects it allows us a greater ability to invest," Davidson said.

It is currently manufacturing 300 blades, each one longer than a football pitch at 108 metres (354 ft) long, for 100 turbines at RWE’s Sofia wind farm off the coast of Britain. It will start producing blades for Scottish Power's East Anglia Three project this summer.

($1 = 0.7401 pounds)

(Reuters/Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Susan Fenton)