Released July 13, 2016 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--A group of the largest energy companies in Europe have agreed to join efforts in the U.K. to cut the cost of offshore wind power below £100 per megawatt hour (MWh) by 2020.
DONG Energy (Fredericia, Denmark), Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden), RWE AG (FWB:RWE) (Essen, Germany), E.ON SE (FWB:EOAN) (Düsseldorf), Iberdrola S.A. (BMAD:IBE) (Bilbao, Spain), Statoil ASA (NYSE:STO) (Stavangar, Norway), SSE plc (LSE:SSE) (Perth, Scotland), Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) (Karlsruhe, Germany) and Statkraft AS (Oslo, Norway) have joined the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) research programme led by the Carbon Trust.
The companies will invest a combined £6.4 million ($8.3 million) alongside another £1.5 million ($2 million) from the Scottish government. The goal is to accelerate the reduction of the levelised cost of energy (LCoE) from offshore wind by cutting costs, improving efficiency and availability of existing and future offshore windfarms. This is the latest phase of the OWA programme, which has been running since 2008.
"Over the last five years the cost of energy from offshore wind has decreased significantly, largely driven by a combination of innovation, risk reduction and increased deployment rates," explained Tom Delay, chief executive officer of the Carbon Trust. "But we need to continue building on this success by getting the right solutions into market quickly to put offshore wind on the path to cost competitiveness by 2020. The Offshore Wind Accelerator has an impressive track record, providing an effective mechanism for public and private sector to work together to meet the cost reduction challenge head on. Its success lies in the sharing of the risks and rewards of innovation through industry-led collaborative research, development and deployment."
Last year, Industrial Info reported on the progress of cost cutting efforts in the offshore wind sector. The first Cost Reduction Monitoring Framework report from the Offshore Wind Programme Board (OWPB) in the U.K. showed that the costs associated with offshore windfarms had fallen by 11% over a four-year period. For additional information, see March 16, 2015, article - Offshore Wind Getting Cheaper.
"The offshore wind sector is making very significant progress on driving down costs," said OWPB Industry Co-Chair Adam Bruce of Mainstream Renewable Power. "The publication of the CRMF Report, and the results of the first auction round for CfDs, show clearly that we are delivering on our commitment to the U.K. consumer. We're already ahead of schedule on cost reduction, and we're set to achieve our target of £100 per megawatt hour by 2020. Offshore wind has the potential to be the leading low carbon generation technology across Northern Europe through the 2020s. The U.K. has a clear leadership role, which will deliver real economic value and security of supply for the consumer."
Jonathan Cole, Iberdrola offshore managing director, said: "It is vital that the industry continues to work together in order to drive down costs in offshore renewables. The North Sea is the world's leading offshore wind development area, and the collaboration between large international developers here is a welcome move towards securing and delivering affordable low carbon energy generation."
Europe leads the world in offshore wind deployment. After a record year for installations last year, the European Wind Energy Association estimated that over 20 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind will be deployed in Europe by 2020. For additional information, see February 10, 2016, article - Wind Blows Other European Power Away in 2015.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
DONG Energy (Fredericia, Denmark), Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden), RWE AG (FWB:RWE) (Essen, Germany), E.ON SE (FWB:EOAN) (Düsseldorf), Iberdrola S.A. (BMAD:IBE) (Bilbao, Spain), Statoil ASA (NYSE:STO) (Stavangar, Norway), SSE plc (LSE:SSE) (Perth, Scotland), Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) (Karlsruhe, Germany) and Statkraft AS (Oslo, Norway) have joined the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) research programme led by the Carbon Trust.
The companies will invest a combined £6.4 million ($8.3 million) alongside another £1.5 million ($2 million) from the Scottish government. The goal is to accelerate the reduction of the levelised cost of energy (LCoE) from offshore wind by cutting costs, improving efficiency and availability of existing and future offshore windfarms. This is the latest phase of the OWA programme, which has been running since 2008.
"Over the last five years the cost of energy from offshore wind has decreased significantly, largely driven by a combination of innovation, risk reduction and increased deployment rates," explained Tom Delay, chief executive officer of the Carbon Trust. "But we need to continue building on this success by getting the right solutions into market quickly to put offshore wind on the path to cost competitiveness by 2020. The Offshore Wind Accelerator has an impressive track record, providing an effective mechanism for public and private sector to work together to meet the cost reduction challenge head on. Its success lies in the sharing of the risks and rewards of innovation through industry-led collaborative research, development and deployment."
Last year, Industrial Info reported on the progress of cost cutting efforts in the offshore wind sector. The first Cost Reduction Monitoring Framework report from the Offshore Wind Programme Board (OWPB) in the U.K. showed that the costs associated with offshore windfarms had fallen by 11% over a four-year period. For additional information, see March 16, 2015, article - Offshore Wind Getting Cheaper.
"The offshore wind sector is making very significant progress on driving down costs," said OWPB Industry Co-Chair Adam Bruce of Mainstream Renewable Power. "The publication of the CRMF Report, and the results of the first auction round for CfDs, show clearly that we are delivering on our commitment to the U.K. consumer. We're already ahead of schedule on cost reduction, and we're set to achieve our target of £100 per megawatt hour by 2020. Offshore wind has the potential to be the leading low carbon generation technology across Northern Europe through the 2020s. The U.K. has a clear leadership role, which will deliver real economic value and security of supply for the consumer."
Jonathan Cole, Iberdrola offshore managing director, said: "It is vital that the industry continues to work together in order to drive down costs in offshore renewables. The North Sea is the world's leading offshore wind development area, and the collaboration between large international developers here is a welcome move towards securing and delivering affordable low carbon energy generation."
Europe leads the world in offshore wind deployment. After a record year for installations last year, the European Wind Energy Association estimated that over 20 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind will be deployed in Europe by 2020. For additional information, see February 10, 2016, article - Wind Blows Other European Power Away in 2015.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
