The UK’s offshore wind industry is forecast to account for a quarter of the world’s offshore wind capacity by 2022. It will also be the only country in the world to generate more wind power off the coast than on land.
There is growing pressure from public and private bodies to avert the climate crisis by moving away from traditional fossil fuel power sources towards low carbon solutions. The growth in clean energy projects, such as wind power and solar, is a step in the right direction for a sustainable future. The UK’s wind, solar and nuclear industry trade bodies have made a call to action demanding the government to set ambitious targets to deliver a net zero power grid by 2035. Investing in cleaner and greener energy is a priority to push fossil fuel power off the grid.
Renewables and other clean technologies, wind power, solar power, geothermal power, hydropower, battery storage, fuel cells, biofuels, and more, have grown dramatically in adoption in the past ten years. This growth has been driven in large part by falling costs. Unlike fossil fuels, which must be extracted, shipped, processed, and combusted to generate energy, cleantech is precisely that: technology. Like all technology, as demand increases and product efficiency improves, costs fall. The time is ripe for increased investment in offshore wind.
This article will explore why the UK energy industry needs to embrace the growing opportunity in offshore wind. Overcoming the challenges, the industry faces will play a key role in meeting the global climate goals.
