Oil majors BP and Total, and Australia’s Macquarie win big in UK offshore wind

The United Kingdom’s Crown Estate has awarded six new offshore wind projects in the country’s latest offshore wind leasing round, with just under 8GW awarded to developers including oil majors BP and Total, as well as Macquarie’s Green Investment Group.

The six new projects total just under 8GW in the latest leasing round, which award rights to developers to build offshore wind farms on seabeds owned by the Crown, and which are the country’s mechanism for meeting its target of operating 40GW worth of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

A total of 7,980MW was awarded across six separate projects, all of which are designed with a nameplate capacity of 1.5GW with the exception of one 480MW project, which will be built off the Lancashire Coast by Offshore Wind Limited, a joint venture between Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios and Flotation Energy.

Two projects in the Dogger Bank bidding area were awarded to German renewable developer RWE Renewables, each measuring in at 1.5GW and set to be located off the Yorkshire Coast.

A consortium made up of British oil major BP and German utility EnBW was awarded two 1.5GW projects, one to be built off the Northern Welsh Coast and a second to be built off the coast of Barrow-In-Furness, off the west coast of England.

A second consortium made up of French oil major Total and Australian banking giant Macquarie Group’s Green Investment Group were awarded the fifth 1.5GW project, to be built off the Lincolnshire Cost.

“With this investment, we’re continuing our pioneering role in the UK’s energy transition, and helping to establish offshore wind as the backbone of its new low-carbon energy system,” said Mark Dooley, Global Head of Green Investment Group.

“Building on our track record as one of the country’s largest funders of offshore wind, this represents a significant increase in our commitment to the UK’s offshore wind sector.

This adds to our growing portfolio of renewable developments in Europe and grows our global offshore wind development portfolio to over 13 GW.”

The Crown Estate estimates that the Round 4 offshore wind projects could push employment in the UK offshore wind sector to as many as 60,000 people by 2030, up from approximately 11,000 today, and help save the UK approximately 12.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year – equivalent to 19% of the nation’s annual household emissions.

“Round 4 offers a major boost for the UK’s green economy and subject to environmental assessments, these projects have the potential to create new jobs and deliver green and affordable energy to millions more homes,” said Dan Labbad, Chief Executive of The Crown Estate.

“With a net zero goal, some of the best offshore wind resources in the world, and clear commitment from Government and industry to continue investing in the low carbon economy, the UK stands ready to play its part in addressing the global climate crisis.

“The task now is to work together across the sector, to coordinate the development we need offshore, in a way which is sensitive to the importance of biodiversity in our precious marine environment and brings new employment opportunities and growth to a range of communities across country.”

The results of the UK’s Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 came hot on the heels of a French onshore wind tender which awarded 49 projects with a combined capacity of 519.7MW at an average tariff of €59.50/MWh – fractionally down on the roughly €59.58/MWh recorded in October 2020.

Further highlighting the growing dominance of wind energy in the growing global renewable energy mix, China announced mind-boggling figures in late-January that 71.7GW worth of wind was connected to the grid across China in 2020 – more than double China’s previous annual growth record, and well exceeding any analysts wildest expectations.

“Wind companies and industry-watchers have been reacting to these figures with a combination of surprise and awe,” said Ben Backwell, CEO at the Global Wind Energy Council.

“Ten years ago, when annual global wind installations of wind totalled just 39 GW in 2010, it would have been unfathomable to see this volume contributed by a single market.”