House of Commons · Westminster Hall
18 October 2022 · 11 other contributors · 13,037 words
Opened by Stephen Crabb Con Preseli Pembrokeshire
Responding minister: Jackie Doyle-Price
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Stephen Crabb raised concerns about floating offshore wind projects in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key points
Key requests to Government
The MP asked the government to provide clearer leadership and set supplementary longer-term targets. He also requested reforms to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) system to incentivise projects that commit to industrial development in the UK and innovation.
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
The MP expressed concern about the delivery challenges related to floating offshore wind, including leadership and co-ordination, financial architecture, port infrastructure readiness, and grid capacity. He highlighted that while the UK has ambitious targets for floating offshore wind with a 5 GW by 2030 goal and potential for up to 95 GW by 2050, significant work is needed to ensure these can be met.
He discussed the potential of floating offshore wind to contribute significantly to the UK's energy needs, especially in the Celtic Sea. He noted that floating offshore wind can achieve higher efficiency levels compared to fixed offshore wind and emphasized the need for anticipatory investment in port infrastructure and grid development.
The hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland raised concerns about the lack of co-operation and strategy regarding floating offshore wind projects, highlighting the need to address spatial squeeze issues affecting fishermen in his constituency. Community benefit is important, especially in Orkney and Shetland where there has been a long history of benefiting from offshore oil and gas. The cap on bids during the ScotWind round of leasing was perplexing and a missed opportunity as Scotland's seabed has significant potential for renewable energy.
Cornwall is at the heart of the green revolution, with opportunities for floating offshore wind projects. The TwinHub project aims to install 4 GW of capacity by 2035, supporting up to 3,200 jobs and £682 million in local supply chain spend by 2030. Cherilyn Mackrory urges the Government to support port upgrades for Falmouth, which is ideally positioned as an integration hub.
The development of floating offshore wind projects is crucial for the energy transition, but it must be done sustainably to protect marine life and habitats.
I support the acceleration of the UK's offshore wind projects to improve energy sustainability, reduce consent times for new projects, and ensure all nations in the UK benefit. The project between Northern Ireland and Scotland is crucial for tackling climate change, while also creating local jobs through manufacturing facilities and research centres. Concerns have been raised about the impact on marine wildlife, particularly seabird populations declining by almost a quarter since 1986.
Scotland has vast offshore wind capacity, yet communities are not seeing the benefits such as employment and financial compensation. The Berwick Bank field alone can power 2.5 million households, but the economic gains from constructing turbines are going to other countries. Transmission stations being built without substantial local job creation is unacceptable.
Investment in floating offshore wind should focus on areas with high potential for renewable generation while ensuring that local communities benefit economically from the projects.
Selaine Saxby emphasized the need for a strategic approach to floating offshore wind projects that considers all ports, skills, and opportunities around the Celtic sea. She highlighted concerns about UK supply chain readiness, port preparedness, and cable corridors. The Member expressed worries over environmental impacts of laying cables across beaches and SSSIs without proper planning.
Asked if freeport status for places like Milford Haven would accelerate the initiatives mentioned.
Mr. Flynn thanked the right hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire and highlighted the reliability of offshore wind projects, citing Vattenfall's Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group as an example. He discussed Scotland's potential in offshore floating wind with 25% of Europe's capacity, mentioning £25 billion gross value added and 300,000 jobs by 2045 according to a recent report. Mr. Flynn stressed the importance of creating local jobs and addressing grid challenges such as TNUoS charges that hinder Scottish projects compared to those in other regions.
Congratulated the right hon. Member on securing the debate and noted that a successful freeport bid is in synergy with floating offshore wind opportunities, delivering manufacturing and long-term job opportunities. Emphasised that maintenance and servicing of structures after installation is a significant employment opportunity. Expressed concerns about the national grid's capability to deliver power from offshore wind, urging for collaboration between the UK Government, National Grid and Ofgem. Called for the UK to become a green growth superpower through a publicly owned clean energy generation company. Emphasised the potential of Port Talbot as a hub for floating offshore wind (FLOW) manufacturing and assembly, highlighting its deep sea harbour, existing infrastructure, and skilled workforce. Advocated for freeport status in Port Talbot and Milford Haven to attract investment and maximise local benefits. Raised concerns about the Crown Estate's lack of detail on supply chain and local content commitment, urging the Minister to address this issue urgently. He raised concerns about integrating power from floating offshore wind into the national grid, asking the Government what actions they are taking to address this issue.
Government Response
Jackie Doyle-PriceIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank you for making sure that I behaved in an orderly way at the beginning of the debate; I am very grateful. I also thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb) for securing the debate, and all Members who have taken part. As the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead) just said, this has been a very sensible debate. I would say it has been a very mature debate in which we have reflected on what needs to be done to properly take advantage of the huge opportunities that we have around this island for floating offshore wind, and I want to highlight some of the contributions that we have heard... The Government are working with Ofgem and the National Grid Electricity System Operator to bring forward a series of strategic network designs to determine what the required infrastructure will be to support our net zero targets. A holistic network design was published in July, which includes the 1.5 GW Mona project off the north Wales coast, and an indicative network design for floating wind in the Celtic sea with a connection to Pembroke dock... We have heard much reference to the role of the Crown Estate. As we speak, Crown Estate Scotland is running a leasing round for innovation projects to decarbonise, which could result in another 6 GW. There are more than 400 MW of floating pathfinder projects already leased in the Celtic sea next year... This summer, the Government published results of the latest allocation round of contracts for difference. This year's auction was by far the most successful yet, at a combined capacity of almost 7 GW. The successful offshore wind projects represent a significant step towards meeting our increased 2030 ambitions. Those projects are now finalising procurement and construction plans... I am grateful to all hon. Members who contributed to the debate. This is just the start, and I look forward to continuing the dialogue to ensure that we realise the capability of floating offshore wind to contribute to our energy mix.