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A turning point for offshore wind at BWEA’s biggest offshore conferenceThere was a stir of excitement at BWEA’s seventh annual offshore conference at the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster on the 4th June 2008. Anticipation for news on the future of offshore wind was high following the announcement last year of an objective to find 33GW of offshore wind sites by 2020. The patience of the 550 attendees was rewarded as The Crown Estate made an announcement on their plan for the release of seabed areas and the Carbon Trust presented the case for the work needed to be done to deliver offshore wind. Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Richard Lambert, Director General of the CBI, both addressed the conference and outlined their views on the future of this sector. The Crown Estate Announcement (view BWEA press release) With £60 billion pounds of investment expected for the development of offshore wind to 2020 the challenge of allocating the sites for development is significant. Rob Hastings, Director of the Marine Estate at The Crown Estate, unveiled his plan for zones of development that would be exclusively developed in partnership with companies or consortia of companies. He also stated the intention of The Crown Estate to invest 50% of its funds in the cost of taking projects to consent. This impressively bold announcement created a buzz across the conference. Richard Lambert, Director General of the CBI, then took to the stage and gave his outlook on the prospects for developing a low carbon economy. He highlighted the need to support the Planning Bill in its current passage through Parliament and to focus on R&D funding. Peter Hodgetts, Director of SeaRoc, core sponsors of the event, gave a welcome to The Crown Estate announcement and the prospect of large scale offshore wind delivery. He highlighted the need to ensure health and safety standards were kept as high as possible. The Carbon Trust Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust, led a panel debate of industry and government representatives to tackle the question of how large scale expansion of offshore wind can be achieved by 2020. The grid infrastructure and access, planning system, supply chain and finance would all need to be in place to make this happen. While there were challenges, the opportunities to lead the world and deliver secure and sustainable energy were tantalisingly close. Secretary of State The presence of the Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn was the first time a Secretary of State had addressed a BWEA conference. He gave a rousing speech of the need to address climate change and the ways to enable offshore wind in order to tackle it. While the morning sessions had outlined some of the challenges to offshore wind and the policies to overcome them, the afternoon showcased what the industry was doing and the practical solutions to deliver current and future projects. The lessons learned from Greater Gabbard, Kentish Flats and Bank financed projects were outlined. Regional Development Agencies, Manufacturers, Grid Operators and Engineering Employers outlined their views on what was needed to make future projects happen. Adam Bruce, Chair of the BWEA Board, directed the day’s proceedings and captured the excitement of the day by explaining that the UK would become the world leader in offshore wind later this year and would overtake nuclear production by 2015. We look forward to Offshore 09 when the momentous plans of this year will be coming to fruition. Conference proceedingsPre-conference reception & charity fundraising
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BWEA Offshore 09 will be held 24-25 June 2009 at the QEII Centre in Westminster. Add the date to your diary today.
