Yahoo Finance Turbines or oil rigs? Ministers to mull both for 'transformative' sector deal
Offshore energy titans are vying for a Government support package worth hundreds of millions of pounds with both renewable power and fossil fuel industries making a case for a "sector deal".
The offshore wind industry will kick start its bid for a “transformative” partnership with the Government on Tuesday by promising to attract £48bn in investment by 2030 and more than double the generating capacity in UK waters.
An offshore wind boom from 13GW to 30GW by the end of the next decade could meet a third of the UK’s demand for electricity while growing the offshore wind workforce from 11,000 to 27,000, according to Renewable UK.
Ministers are also under pressure to offer a sector deal to the North Sea oil and gas industry which employs hundreds of thousands of workers and expects investment to hit £5bn in this year alone.
The case to extend the life of the North Sea is likely to garner greater support after a string of gas price shocks this winter underlined the Britain’s growing dependence on gas imports.
“Oil and gas remain a vital part of the UK economy and will form most of our primary energy needs for many years to come,” said Oil and Gas UK boss Deirdre Michie. “The energy market is changing but we will remain relevant for many decades to come.”
Meanwhile the offshore wind industry has been hailed as a major industrial success story by ministers who said the UK’s world leading advantage could become a major export opportunity after turbine technology costs plummeted by half in a matter of years.
Baroness Brown of Cambridge, the UK’s low-carbon business ambassador, said an ambitious sector deal could bring “the opportunity to take the next transformative steps together” with Government to grow the industry in the future.
She added that the deal would enable “the offshore wind industry to help Government to achieve its clean growth ambitions in a way that boosts productivity and growth throughout the UK”.
