There are currently 2,500 offshore wind turbines installed in the UK, which produced 12% of the country’s electricity last year. Nuclear power generated 15% and gas provided 40% of the country’s electricity.
About half of the gas is imported, leaving the UK dependent on global markets and vulnerable to shortages and price hikes.
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set a goal of quadrupling offshore wind power by 2030, increasing capacity from 12GW to 50GW, to make the UK the “Saudi Arabia of wind power.”
That’s enough power to power every house in Britain, provided there is wind. However, in its report, the OEUK warns that this expansion is a huge challenge, as 3,200 new and much larger wind turbines will be needed by 2030 – about three new turbines every two days.
The team found that nearly half of the projects needed to achieve the goal were only at the concept stage, with projects typically taking 13 years or more to move from concept to operation.
The OEUK said the target will only be met if the government eliminates delays in regulation and planning, including reducing the approval time from four years to one, streamlining the environmental assessment process, and creating a fast-track process for non-contentious projects.