'Offshore wind industry should supply a third of the UK’s energy by 2030'
Back in 2012, when I sat on the UK government/industry Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Task Force, our remit was clear — where should government and industry focus their attention to drive down the cost of producing energy from this infinite, natural resource?
We produced an action plan to reduce the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from offshore wind to £100 ($140) per MWh by 2020. For many, this target was viewed as a real challenge for a technology that was in its infancy. For some, it seemed unachievable.
Fast forward four years and not only did the industry reach this ambitious target, it did so four years ahead of plan; as reported in the 2016 Cost Reduction Monitoring Framework. An incredible success thanks to innovations in design, construction and operations & maintenance, as well as the development of a growing and inventive supply chain in the UK.