Britain needs record offshore wind auction to meet targets, says Siemens Energy

Britain’s next renewable energy auction must secure a record amount of new offshore wind capacity if the country is to meet its 2030 "clean power" targets, Darren Davidson, Vice President of turbine maker Siemens Energy UKI, who has very obvious vested interests, told Reuters.

The Labour Party has put offshore wind at the heart of its controversial and unpopular plans to decarbonise its electricity sector by 2030, plans that have resulted in some of the highest energy prices in the world.

It aims to boost capacity to 43-50 gigawatts (GW) by the end of the decade, from around 15 GW at present, although a government report in November said it would be a challenge to reach that goal.

Britain holds annual auctions for renewable subsidies, offering a guaranteed minimum price for the electricity produced to spur investment in new projects because otherwise they would be commercially unviable. Last year’s auction, AR6, offered £1.5 billion ($2.0 billion) in funding, with just over five gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity winning contracts.

"To keep on track with (clean power 2030) targets, we estimate AR7 will need to clear a record six GW of offshore wind capacity," Davidson said.

The largest amount of offshore wind capacity awarded contracts in auctions to-date was 5.46 GW in AR3 in 2019.

Davidson was talking at Siemens Gamesa’s turbine factory in Hull, northeast England, last week. Siemens Gamesa, which is Siemens Energy’s wind power business, has installed 10 GW of offshore wind turbines round the coast of Britain.

The Hull factory opened in 2016 and employs over 1,400 people, with 600 new employees recruited over the past 12 months as the site more than doubled its manufacturing capacity.

"The last five years have really proven that when we've got that visible pipeline of projects it allows us a greater ability to invest," Davidson said.

It is currently manufacturing 300 blades, each one longer than a football pitch at 108 metres (354 ft) long, for 100 turbines at RWE’s Sofia wind farm off the coast of Britain. It will start producing blades for Scottish Power's East Anglia Three project this summer.

(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Susan Fenton)