Offshore wind gets £400m windfall from Crown Estate
Britain's offshore wind industry has received a boost from the King's Crown Estate, which is investing £400 million in the supply chain for wind turbines at sea.
A law passed in April means that for the first time the Crown Estate can borrow from the Treasury. In the past it had to sell assets to generate capital for investments but can now use its cash reserves for investing in energy and decarbonisation projects, given the flexibility to borrow as and when required.
Much of the £400 million will go towards upgrading infrastructure at ports used to handle increasingly big turbines, some of which are nearly twice the height of the London Eye. A smaller portion will go towards early-stage schemes that include everything from how blades are made to the vessels that crews use to maintain offshore wind farms.
Many wind turbine components are manufactured in Denmark and Germany, but some towers, cables and other parts are made in the UK. Nearly 40,000 people now work in Britain's offshore wind sector, up from 32,000 two years ago, according to figures from RenewableUK. On Tuesday the industry group said it would also invest £300 million in the sector's supply chain by 2035.
The Crown Estate has a strong self-interest in offshore wind power. The body owns the seabed surrounding the UK and charges renewable energy firms money to develop projects in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A separate body, Crown Estate Scotland, handles the Scottish seabed.
The leases for wind farms were a key reason the Crown Estate's profits doubled for the 2023-24 financial year, as they grew in importance in a portfolio that includes everything from shopping centres to farmland.
• We mustn't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on wind power
Britain is second only to China for installed offshore wind capacity. The technology is seen by Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, as vital for meeting Labour's goals of clean power supplying 95 per cent of electricity by 2030 and offshore wind capacity quadrupling by then.
Miliband's hopes were dealt a blow when a vast wind farm planned for the Yorkshire coast was scrapped last month, with its Danish owner blaming higher interest rates and supply chain costs.
However, the Crown Estate has set an ambitious goal of offering an additional 20 to 30GW of offshore wind leases by 2030, up on an existing 11.8GW. 30GW would be enough to power all 28 million households in the UK.
'We will not unlock the full economic, social and environmental benefits of offshore wind without collaboration and investment into the UK supply chain,' said Ben Brinded, head of investment at the Crown Estate, as he announced the £400 million investment.
• Climate adviser will lead push to create clean electricity grid by 2030
Offshore wind is on the verge of overtaking turbines on land, with 15.6GW of installed capacity compared with 15.8GW onshore. Labour's publicly owned energy firm, GB Energy, whose £8.3 billion budget survived the spending review, has talked of a 'huge opportunity' from investing in floating turbines, which can be placed in deeper waters. It recently announced the offshore wind supply chain would receive a £300 million investment.
Separately on Tuesday, the government said it had reached a memorandum of understanding with China over action on climate change, including implementing Sir Keir Starmer's target of an 81 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2025. The agreement did not touch on commercial deals between the UK and China.
Miliband said: 'We are witnessing the coming of age of Britain's green industrial revolution.'
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