A new campaign has been launched by a coalition of industry companies and civil society organisations to sell offshore wind to MPs and ministers as the “future of UK energy”.
Westminster tube station has been plastered with posters on walls and ticket gates featuring the message that the cost of offshore wind energy has been halved within just two years.
Doctor Who actor Peter Capaldi, who visited the station to kick-off the campaign, said: “It’s safe, secure, zero-carbon and economical. In fact, it’s halved in price in just under two years. That’s 50 per cent off.
“It’s a great deal”, he added. “And it may just save the planet. The future of energy in the UK is offshore wind power.”
The coalition behind the campaign is made up of Dong Energy, Scottish Power Renewables, Siemens Gamesa, SSE, Vattenfall, General Electric, Greenpeace, the Marine Conservation Society and WWF.
The message in based on the results of the recent Contracts for Difference auction, in which three offshore wind projects beat even the most optimistic predictions to clear the auction at prices starting from just £58/MWh (2012 prices).
By comparison, the two offshore wind projects which were sucessful in the previous auction in 2015 secured contracts at £119/MWh and £114/MWh.
“Offshore wind presents a massive opportunity for the UK,” said Dong Energy UK managing director, Matthew Wright.
“Costs are falling rapidly, long-term and highly-skilled jobs are being created across the north of England and the UK supply chain is going from strength to strength.
“The industry has already come such a long way and we truly believe it can become the backbone of the UK’s energy transformation.”
Renewable UK executive director, Emma Pinchbeck commented: “Offshore wind has rewritten the rulebook, sending costs tumbling down, which is great news for consumers.
“As new offshore wind is now cheaper than new gas and nuclear, it’s the natural technology of choice to play a leading role in the UK’s modern clean energy mix.”
To coincide with the launch, Greenpeace UK released the results of a survey, commissioned from YouGov, which it claimed showed offshore wind to be by far the most popular large-scale generation technology with the public.
Of the more than 1,700 respondents, 58 per cent said that, assuming all cost the same, the government should prioritise offshore wind over other technologies.
“We’ve known for a long time that renewable energy was much more popular with the British public than any of the alternatives,” said Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven.
“Now that offshore wind is more than cost-competitive with every other energy option, we have a way forward for UK energy policy.”
However, the only other options in the survey were nuclear (19 per cent), gas (3 per cent), “other” (3 per cent) and “don’t know” (17 per cent).