Offshore Wind Accelerator To Receive £6.4 Million In Funding To Reduce LCoE Of Offshore Wind

The Carbon Trust’s flagship R&D program, the Offshore Wind Accelerator, has received an investment boost of £6.4 million that is aimed at reducing the levelized cost of energy from offshore wind.

According to the Carbon Trust, nine of Europe’s largest offshore wind developers have signed on to a new program with the Offshore Wind Accelerator initiative, committing to invest £6.4 million over the next four years to impact the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) from offshore wind to below £100 per MWh by 2020, by reducing costs, improving efficiency, and increasing the availability of existing and future offshore wind farms.

Carbon Trust made the announcement on its website on Monday, revealing that DONG Energy, EnBW, E.ON, Iberdrola, RWE, SSE, Statkraft, Statoil, and Vattenfall had all signed on to the program.

“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,” said Tom Delay, Chief Executive Officer, 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.”

In addition to the £6.4 million invested by the nine offshore wind developers, the Scottish Government has also committed to investing a further £1.5 million.

“Previous Scottish Government support for the OWA has helped develop new ideas in key areas of importance to companies operating in Scottish waters and I have no doubt this new funding will help firms to continue this important work,” said Paul Wheelhouse, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Business, Innovation, and Energy. “Only last month, around 350 jobs were announced as a direct result of the construction of the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm, highlighting the massive opportunity offshore wind presents to Scotland and the Scottish economy.

“Innovation in renewables also continues to contribute to the excellent progress we are making on reducing greenhouse gas emissions after the recent announcement that Scotland has exceeded our 2020 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42% six years early.”