The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will fund a £1 million market access programme designed to generate new opportunities for UK companies to export offshore wind products and services globally.
The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult will carry out work to identify the international market for offshore wind facilities and regulatory barriers to their deployment, beginning immediately for completion by March 2025. Its independent offshore wind specialists will work with the DBT’s in-country Trade Commissioners’ teams to deliver the research.
The project aims to position the UK’s offshore wind supply chain as a partner of choice while also scoping capabilities, infrastructure and key requirements for international locations; this work aims to identify opportunities for UK businesses.
Strategy development, ports infrastructure and floating offshore wind will be a high priority in a series of workshops and fact-finding missions.
ORE Catapult will also present at international trade shows and conferences, meet with stakeholders and policy experts, formulate strategy documents for individual markets and deliver pilot projects with selected partners.
At the end of March 2025, when the project will be completed, all of the market data will be analysed to share findings and recommendations with the UK’s renewable energy sector.
Minister of state for trade policy Douglas Alexander said: “Economic growth is a defining mission of this government, and bringing down trade barriers in key sectors will unlock more markets and more opportunities for exporters up and down the country.
“This investment shows that we are working to pull every lever we have to create jobs and support businesses as we look to drive the growth this country needs.”
Dr Stephen Wyatt, director of strategy and emerging technology for ORE Catapult added: “The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and we now have the opportunity to translate two decades of experience into new export opportunities for UK companies.
“This collaboration represents a welcome economic growth initiative, providing clear leadership, enhanced market visibility and invaluable support for UK companies interested in entering these fast-growing international markets.”
At the end of August, the UK exceeded 30GW operational capacity of combined onshore and offshore wind. Solar Media Market Research database figures put the installed capacity at 30.2GW, while RenewableUK has slightly higher numbers, at 30.299GW.
RenewableUK’s executive director of policy and engagement, Ana Musat, said: “It took 26 years to install the first 15GW of wind energy in the UK, so to double that to 30GW in just seven years represents a tremendous success for the industry.”
Labour’s wind energy push
The Labour government’s flagship Great British Energy company was formally launched at the end of July, along with the announcement that it would partner with the Crown Estate, which owns much of the land around the UK’s coastline.
This suggests that, at least initially, the publicly-owned energy company’s focus will be on wind generation. Since coming into power, energy secretary Ed Miliband has removed the de facto ban on onshore wind and established an Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce.
In September, the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) launched a new funding programme, called the Manufacturing Facility Support Programme, to unlock manufacturing growth in the UK wind sector. It made £2 million of finance available for UK businesses looking to develop new manufacturing facilities or expand existing facilities that make key components and equipment for the offshore wind sector.