The British Ports Association has welcomed the publication of the Offshore Wind Champion, Tim Pick’s independent report on the sector but suggested the government needs to act in certain areas.
Responding to the publication of the independent report of the UK’s Offshore Wind Champion, the British Ports Association has called for action from government on planning, grid capacity, delivery models, as well as funding.
Commenting, Richard Ballantyne, Chief Executive of British Ports Association, the trade body which represents UK ports and including all the main energy gateways, said:
“This report by the Offshore Wind Champion is an important prompt for government to review how the delivery of its ambitious offshore wind aspirations can be achieved.
There are certainly genuine opportunities for our sector, but as Tim Pick highlights, a number of challenges exist around the delivery timescales and targets.
We would welcome a debate with the government about what role ports will play, in discussion with energy developers and other players.
Ports will be essential to the roll out and delivery of floating offshore wind, but they will need certain long term commitments to ensure that investments in infrastructure are feasible.
This will involve levels of government funding of which the FLOWMIS scheme addresses, perhaps at the first phase, but we will also need to see improvements to consenting systems and better grid connectivity in order to facilitate the ambitious rollout.”
The report by Tim Pick was published today and is available here.