UK: Prime Minister Outlines His Vision for Future

The Prime Minister David Cameron made the case for clean energy in the UK and globally as he addressed delegates at the Clean Energy Ministerial being held in Central London.

Speaking to energy ministers from 23 leading economies, and alongside a series of government and commercial announcements, the Prime Minister said:

 “There are huge challenges facing governments across the world today, and one of the most important of all is how we meet our growing energy demands in a way that protects our planet for our children and grandchildren.

 “With global demand forecast to increase by more than 40 per cent in the next two decades, we urgently need a more diverse, cleaner mix of energy sources that will give us energy security without causing irreparable damage to the planet.

 “Renewables are now the fastest growing energy source on the planet. And I am proud that Britain has played a leading role at the forefront of this green energy revolution.

 “Britain has gone from virtually no capacity for renewables, to seeing them provide almost 10 per cent of our total electricity needs last year. And we’ve added more capacity for renewables in the last two years than at any time in the last decade.

 “Our commitment and investment in renewable energy has helped to make renewable energy possible. Now we have a different challenge. We need to make it financially sustainable.”

Dedicating much of his remarks to how renewable energy can move from its strong position to become a truly global industry, the Prime Minister spoke about collaboration between government and business to drive down costs, the need to develop a global carbon price and the importance of enhanced international trading.

Announced alongside the Prime Minister’s speech:

Commercial investment

The Prime Minister highlighted the scale of renewable investment in the UK over the past year. Between April 2011 and February 2012, announcements to the value of £4.7 billion and supporting 15,000 jobs have been made in UK renewable projects across a wide range of sectors, including onshore and offshore wind, bioenergy and marine, and throughout their supply chains.

He welcomed further industry announcements, including a major new contract let by E.ON for its Humber Gateway offshore wind farm, creation of a new joint venture to develop a large offshore wind project off the Isle of Wight, investment by JDR Cables in a significant expansion of its facility in Hartlepool, and the progression of three biomass and onshore wind projects in the UK representing over £350m of investment and as many as 800 jobs at the peak of construction (see Notes for Editors for details).

New industry partnership shaping a second energy revolution for the North Sea

The Prime Minister announced a new industry partnership bringing together key players with an interest in making the most of the North Sea’s renewable energy resource. More than twenty firms based in several different countries have signed up to a shared vision to create a major new renewable energy power centre in the North Sea and to maximise the significant opportunities that come with it. Early signatories include major offshore wind developers, manufacturers, as well as a wide range of supply chain companies (see Notes for Editors for full list of signatories).

Under the provisional name of “Norstec” – which takes inspiration from the “Desertec” solar initiative – this brings together key players who recognise the enormous opportunity offered by the North Sea. This network will come together around the time of the June RenewableUK conference on global offshore wind to discuss in more detail how the new partnership will operate.

Offshore wind cost reduction

The Prime Minister also welcomed continuing efforts to reduce technology costs. In the offshore wind sector, the Crown Estate and the industry through the Cost Reduction Task Force, is taking a detailed look at how we can reduce the cost of offshore wind to £100/MWh by 2020, for example, considering the impact of technology, finance and supply chain developments.

Two announcements aimed at reducing the costs of offshore wind were made. A second round of offshore innovation funding – of up to £5m – targeted straight at technologies that can cut costs, is set to open for bids in May. Existing projects are already leading to jobs and investment – for example David Brown is using a £1.2m government grant to support the development of a lower weight, lower cost gear system for the next generation of offshore wind.

And the Government is working to make the absolute most of the resource – the Crown Estate announced it will soon be exploring whether test sites can be set up in even deeper water, opening up the energy potential of a new swathe of the North Sea.

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Offshore WIND staff, May 25, 2012; Image: decc