Supporting roles
Jonathan Reynolds argues that the East of England has everything required for success in the offshore wind industry
You only have to turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper and you’re bound to see references to the growing offshore wind industry. We all know that wind is part of the foundations on which the new government’s renewable energy ambitions are built, and the East of England has the right natural conditions and the right skills to lead this growing industry.
The offshore wind industry is a critical source of future energy supply for the UK and is a sector of the economy which still has to fully mature. The region is at the centre of the world’s largest market for offshore wind deployment and is the UK’s most dense area of offshore wind energy development between the Humber, Greater Wash and Thames Estuary.
A highly developed offshore supply chain has led to competitive operating costs in the offshore sector, with the full breadth of the manufacturing and services industry to the offshore sector located here. For over 40 years the East of England has supplied a versatile and respected workforce for offshore industries across the globe, with the region incorporating unrivalled facilities for training.
With major port facilities all around the shoreline, the region possesses the infrastructure and expertise to provide logistics solutions to enable the industry to develop in the UK. Close proximity to London, and numerous low cost connections to mainland Europe and the UK via regional airports such as London Stansted and London Luton, also give easy access to both customers and suppliers.
The proximity of the region to both the North Sea offshore fields and mainland Europe makes the ideal place to invest in both manufacturing and operations, building on the world-class expertise already on offer.
At the centre of all of this is OrbisEnergy, a state-of-the-art specialist innovation and incubation centre that sits on Britain’s most easterly location at Ness Point in Lowestoft. Its prime objective is to maximise the supply chain opportunities associated with the rapid development of offshore renewables in the North Sea, and to help small and medium sized enterprises take advantage of the many opportunities the growing sector offers.
OrbisEnergy was opened in late 2008 and the 35,000 square foot building is already more than 80 percent occupied, reflecting the momentum gaining in the sector. Among the 20 or so businesses already based in OrbisEnergy is anchor tenant Scottish and Southern Energy, which, through Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds Ltd, chose Lowestoft as its base for the long-term operation and maintenance of the Greater Gabbard windfarm.
OrbisEnergy is the flagship building in a strategically located area of Lowestoft that is being developed as an offshore technology park, called ‘PowerPark’. Once fully developed, the site will build on the region’s rich heritage of marine engineering and offshore support and play home to a significant proportion of the supply chain for offshore technologies. Companies specialising in areas such as turbine components, subsea foundations and offshore services can be based at PowerPark with access to the North Sea and direct links to the region’s wider offshore support and engineering supply chains. At the heart of PowerPark, OrbisEnergy will lead through innovation and facilitate R&D, manufacturing and fabrication, business incubation and skills training.
A feasibility study published in June 2010, funded by the East of England Development Agency, has proposed the development of a £10million facility to support the training of thousands of individuals to provide the new jobs that will be needed in the offshore energy industry. The study has demonstrated the clear need for an integrated energy skills centre, which could be based on the technology park site, and would provide specialist craft and technician training across all energy sectors.
It is widely understood that the scale of Round 3 offshore wind means that traditional manufacturing and fabrication techniques for turbines and foundations will simply not be able to meet the demand for the future. The industry knows that it has to evolve. Safety, operational efficiency and cost control will be critical areas of focus in the construction and installation of thousands of wind turbines. We will need to continue transferring the world-class knowledge of the region’s oil and gas and offshore supply chain but also look to other sectors for commercial and technical innovations, new production techniques and manufacturing processes.
The development and operations phases of offshore projects are key regional capabilities and many companies in the traditional offshore sector are already expert in supporting offshore wind farms. Further opportunities for existing companies, clusters and supply chains to diversify into offshore wind are wide-ranging. There is significant potential for supply chain diversification in the development of composites, electrical components and mobilising innovation from other sectors such as marine, automotive and aerospace, linking into the region’s key R&D capabilities.
The region’s rich history in offshore operations, innovation and technology, coupled with world-class credentials in automotive design, engineering and manufacturing, gives the East of England a unique offering.
The East of England has a vital role to play in the future of the UK’s energy industry. With a wide mix of energy generation - from gas and offshore wind to bio-ethanol and nuclear - the region is a microcosm of where we need to be for the whole of the UK in order to secure and develop our energy supplies for the future.
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