Amber Rudd Openly Supports Offshore Wind, Says ‘Enough’ Onshore
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The UK’s newly placed Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Amber Rudd, has confirmed there is “enough onshore wind” and that she and her department are “determined” to back the offshore wind industry.
Speaking at the RenewableUK Offshore Wind Conference, Amber Rudd was quick to praise the offshore wind energy sector, focusing on the impressive level of growth that has taken place over the past 15 years and the UK offshore wind sector’s global pre-eminence.
“The last 15 years has seen a phenomenal growth in British offshore wind,” she said. “By the end of this year we are expecting 30 offshore wind farm developments to be contributing to Britain’s energy security.
“Almost 1,500 turbines with the capacity to provide over 5 GW of home produced, clean electricity — enough to power the equivalent of almost 4 million homes. In the last 5 years alone, the amount of electricity being produced from offshore wind has more than quadrupled.”
As a result of these highlights, the UK now has “the most operational offshore wind … than anywhere else in the world.”
However, despite RenewableUK’s pleas earlier this month to rethink cutting onshore wind support, “urging the Government to think carefully before it implements any cuts in financial support to onshore wind,” Ms. Rudd made it all the more clear that there is very little hope onshore wind will receive financial support from the recently re-elected Conservative Government.
“We already have enough onshore wind in the pipeline to hit the middle of the range we need for that technology. We need to continue investing in less mature technologies so that they realise their promise, just as onshore wind has done.”
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