§ Mr. Hilary BennTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance his Department is giving to support offshore wind generator research, development and manufacturing; and if he will make a statement. [128145]
§ Mrs. LiddellThe Government recognise the potential of the offshore wind energy industry both in the UK and internationally. Accordingly, offshore wind energy is a priority area within my Department's research and development programme for new and renewable energy.
The programme has so far committed £790,000 in two projects. One will monitor and evaluate the installation and performance of the UK's first offshore installation of two 2 MW turbines being installed off Blyth Harbour this summer. The other is supporting the development of a new rotor hub, aimed at the offshore market, being assembled in the UK using UK components. In addition, the programme also has several high-value research proposals currently under consideration to develop and evaluate installation systems and techniques for offshore wind farms with prospects for reducing costs.
A further aim of our programme is to establish the environmental effects of offshore wind farms. A project providing an initial assessment of all the potential effects has been completed and is being followed up by scoping studies focusing on the effects on sea wild life, birds and coastal processes such as erosion and deposition.
The Government are also considering the scope for additional support for offshore wind in the context of the new renewables obligation.
§ Mr. Hilary BennTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of offshore wind energy to electricity production; and if he will make a statement. [128146]
§ Mrs. LiddellAn analysis of the potential contribution of offshore wind energy and other renewable energy technologies was produced for my Department in March 1999 by the Energy Technical Support Unit (ETSU) and formed the Supporting Analysis to the Consultation Document on Renewable Energy then published. A copy of the Supporting Analysis is in the Library of the House.
The UK's wind resources are potentially much greater offshore than onshore. They are limited only by practicable working water depths, the use of maritime areas for other activities, and the costs of achieving linkage with the onshore electrical network. Moving from onshore to offshore need not require major changes in the technology, but additional technical problems arise because of the more hostile environment. Offshore installations could increase the contribution from wind power substantially.