Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry has announced a £60m budget for next year’s Contracts for Difference auctions to be held in May for new renewable power, and has also confirmed that the Government and the offshore wind industry are close to reaching a sector deal.

The UK has installed more offshore wind capacity than any other country, and could 30GW by 2030 to provide more than one-third of the UK’s electricity. The sector deal aims to build on this global leadership in this clean technology through innovation, collaboration and Government policy to secure investment in a pipeline of future projects.

The domestic and export market for offshore wind products and services provided by UK-based firms is expected to be worth £4.9bn a year by 2030, by which time 27,000 people will be working in the industry. With the global market expected to exceed £30 billion by this time, the industry and Government are taking steps to ensure that the UK is ready to benefit from this global growth.

The co-chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) Benj Sykes, who is also UK country manager for Ørsted’s offshore wind business, said: “With the right deal in place, we can continue to attract billions of pounds of investment in new infrastructure, secure our power supplies, and create thousands of skilled jobs, including our supply chain which already extends to every part of the country”

Opportunities for more companies to become part of the burgeoning offshore wind supply chain are being highlighted in a series of supply chain roadshows led by the former McLaren Group CEO and Formula One team principal Martin Whitmarsh. Aimed at the existing supply chain firms and also companies new to the industry, the focus is on readying the UK to take advantage of the growing global market.

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