Increase in offshore wind ambition takes UK closer to full decarbonisation of power sector

Reacting to the Prime Minister’s upcoming announcement today to increase the UK’s ambition on offshore wind, Nick Molho, Executive Director of the Aldersgate Group said: “The Prime Minister’s announcement to increase the UK’s offshore wind ambition to 40GW by 2030 is a very important milestone in the UK’s continued efforts to decarbonise its power sector. To deliver this target in a timely and economically beneficial way, the Government must provide the sector with sufficiently ambitious, regular and predictable project auctions throughout the 2020s. The much needed commitment to invest in port infrastructure is a welcome commitment and should be matched by a clear focus on low carbon skills, both of which are essential to grow domestic supply chains and create jobs in the sector.”

Nick Molho added: “Ahead of the Prime Minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, it is essential that Ofgem’s final determinations for RIIO-2 – which will set price controls for power companies over the next five years – allow businesses to make the necessary investments to strengthen the transmission and distribution systems, increase the grid’s storage capacity and equip the system operator with the tools it needs to reliably operate a modern power system increasingly based on renewable energy generation.” [1]