The offshore floating wind sector represents a "second coming" for UK supply chain companies that have previously missed out to foreign competitors, a key industry voice has said.
Neil Gordon, chief executive of the Global Underwater Hub, which is led by former SMD CEO Andrew Hodgson as chair, said the opportunity for work presented by floating offshore wind could be greater than before. He has urged the UK to become a "first mover" and prepare itself to supply a plethora of projects starting in UK waters and spreading around the world.
Mr Gordon said: "There’s been much hand-wringing over the years about the loss of business for the UK in fixed offshore wind, when much of the fabrication ended up overseas and many of the developers were not UK-based. A UK Government report, four years ago, described the lack of UK firms in the offshore wind supply chain as a "missed opportunity” and stated that a more strategic approach was needed by government and industry in the future.
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"That future is here and, with it, comes a second chance - one that could be even bigger, particularly for the UK’s world-leading underwater industry. This second-coming is floating offshore wind and, thanks to our unrivalled underwater ingenuity and engineering, it’s where the UK can really make its mark if we grasp the opportunity and invest in the advancement of our already world-leading subsea experience, knowledge, expertise and technology."
Mr Gordon pointed to the massive Scotwind project, which will bring 11 floating wind projects to UK waters and promises to generate £66bn of investment into the supply chain - of which about 40% is ring-fenced to be spent in Scotland. He also highlighted opportunities in the Innovation and Target Oil & Gas seabed leasing round which offer operators the rights to build offshore wind farms in order to decarbonise oil and gas production in the North Sea.
He added: "Floating offshore wind represents the greatest opportunity for the subsea industry this generation. The underwater elements of manufacturing, assembling, installing and then operating and maintaining floating offshore wind projects are eminently transferable from offshore oil and gas, where subsea expertise was, largely, honed and refined.
"From floating foundations to mooring and anchoring systems, as well as dynamic power cables, the subsea industry will be integral to delivering floating wind. And it’s not just these obvious, largescale fabrication and manufacturing elements, it’s also all the skills and technologies, components and sub-components which will be required further down the line."
The newly established Global Underwater Hub, which aims to promote cross-sector collaboration and plans to operate a Newcastle base, has called on the offshore sector to respond to a government 'Request for Information' with a deadline of July 15. The exercise is designed to give government indicators of where investment can make the biggest impact in the sector.
Up to £160m will be available through the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS) to help scale-up the deployment of floating offshore wind and to invest in key areas where the UK has a competitive advantage.
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