2018-10-30 UK Floating Wind Could Support 17,000 Jobs & Generate £33.6 Billion In Value By 2050
A new report commissioned by the Crown Estate Scotland has found that not only does floating offshore wind have an important role to play in the UK’s plans to generate 50 gigawatts (GW) from offshore wind by 2050 but that it could support up to 17,000 jobs and provide £33.6 billion in added value.
Source documents: 2018-10-29 Study reveals long-term UK floating wind potential – 17,000 jobs and £33.6bn by 2050
And: 2018-09 MACROECONOMIC BENEFITS OF FLOATING OFFSHORE WIND IN THE UK
Page 7 includes: 'Longer term, floating wind can contribute at least 10GW towards the UK achieving 50GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050 and large-scale deployment of floating wind will be imperative if the UK is to realise ambitions in excess of 50GW. Floating wind will support the UK offshore wind supply chain, with 57% UK content expected by 2031 and 65% by 2050. It will both provide jobs and retain skills for a declining yet important UK oil and gas sector.
With the UK’s strong track record in fixed wind and world-leading subsea and offshore engineering capabilities, the UK is well placed to take advantage of the economic growth which can be achieved through developing this sector. We project that floating wind will support 17,000 UK jobs and £33.6bn of GVA, far outweighing the cost of providing support for the early stages of deployment of up to £2.2bn and representing a return of £15 for each £1 invested in early stage support.
The global opportunity for floating wind is large, with emerging markets in Japan, USA, China, Taiwan, Korea, Norway, Spain and Portugal. These countries represent both growing export opportunities but also competition for UK companies. The total market is set to grow to at least 4GW installed by 2030 and 55GW by 2050, representing annual markets of at least £3.1bn and £7.1bn respectively. Off the back of this, with the appropriate supportive actions, we believe the UK can deliver annual UK export value of at least £230m by 2031 and £550m by 2050'.
This compares very favourably with nuclear power, for which much of the plant must be imported.
Page 14, Fig. 1 shows that the UK has great scope for floating wind power, with wind speeds of over 8 m/s and water depths of over 50 m in the northern North Sea, and in the Atlantic, west of Scotland and south west of England.
Page 18, Table 1 assumes annual average net capacity factors of 50% for demonstration units in 2018 and 52.7% for commercial plants in 2027.
This contributes to a Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE), including decommissioning, of £ 85/MWh (at 2012 values) in 2027.
The net capacity factor would be higher in winter and approach the average load factor for the UK electricity system of about 73%
The LCOE is less than that projected for electricity from the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, which excludes the costs of decommissioning and the storage of the radioactive waste for ever.
A new report commissioned by the Crown Estate Scotland has found that not only does floating offshore wind have an important role to play in the UK’s plans to generate 50 gigawatts (GW) from offshore wind by 2050 but that it could support up to 17,000 jobs and provide £33.6 billion in added value.
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