DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
AND CLIMATE CHANGE News Release (Reference: 2009/038) issued by COI
News Distribution Service on 30 March 2009
More than 100 port
operators, developers, investors and wind manufactures from across
the UK today met with the Government to cut through a potential
bottleneck in offshore wind farm development.
With the potential market for UK ports worth £1bn up to the year
2020, there is an extraordinary opportunity for ports to be
involved in the supply of services to manufacturers and developers
of offshore wind farms.
The UK needs ports with the capacity to handle large vessels and
with available space for wind turbine manufacturers and their
supply chain.
At the moment, there are too few sites to meet future demand for
offshore wind technology, although port operators have started to
recognise the potential revenue opportunities from offshore wind.
Energy Minister Mike O'Brien said in his speech today:
"We want the UK to make the world's biggest investment
in offshore wind. We are an island nation with a fantastic wind resource.
"Britain's ports could become the hub of activity and
economic opportunity as we massively increase the amount of
renewable energy we get from our seas - and could be key to
constructing and transporting wind technology.
"Thousands of jobs could be created as a result of the
construction of wind farms - including in our ports which will
face enormous demand. Today's seminar will for the first time
discuss what Britain's ports have to gain from the
development of offshore wind, and what needs to happen to make
sure that government, energy developers and Britain's ports
work together so that all benefit."
The meeting will inform the offshore wind industry about the
opportunities and discuss how to co-ordinate the parties involved
in developing ports.
Notes to editors:
1. The report 'UK Ports for the Offshore Wind Industry: Time
to Act' was commissioned by the Department of Energy and
Climate Change, to study UK port capabilities resulting from a
perceived lack of UK port availability and capacity by European
wind turbine manufacturers and offshore wind developers. It found
that ports have started to recognise the potential revenue
opportunities from offshore wind and that the UK has sufficient
capacity and land to support our offshore wind ambitions. The
report is available at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file49871.pdf
2. The Government is currently looking at whether it can build
25GW of offshore wind capacity over the next decade. This is an
investment similar to the North Sea oil boom of the 1970s and 80s.
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