Recharge’s Offshore wind must ‘challenge status quo’ to decarbonise Europe contains a review of our report for WindEurope, ‘Our energy, our future‘.
The article contains several quotes from Kate Freeman, who was one of our authors of the report. In the article, Kate mentions how “…450GW is very do-able…” but “… challenging the status quo on spatial planning… is essential to getting the most out of the steep cost reduction in offshore wind.”
She also states that:
“With the current exclusion zones, almost three quarters of the future capacity cannot be built at a ‘very low’ LCOE. There have been frictions with many of the industries — shipping, fisheries, military — that share the offshore environment… but now is the time that we as a society can share that perceived burden I think there is a way through to this [450GW].”
“The Blue Economy [the commercial offshore ecosystem] is a big part of our future in Europe — and offshore wind part of the energy system that is going to power it. This report should be a wake-up call for policymakers and marine planners: the cheapest and most space-efficient way to build the 450GW is through the multiple use of the same maritime space by different sectors.”
“It will be a big undertaking, but it can be the investment can be mobilised,” she said. “It is increasingly being seen that, yes, this is very big campaign, but the pay-off could hardly be more worthwhile.”
“Rather than looking at offshore wind now or even a few years from now, we need to be seeing this as this is to get 30% of your energy generation [by 2050). These investment levels need to be seen in that context — and in that context, these numbers seem like no-brainers to me.”
“The way the North Sea and the Baltic are currently developing is the right way to go [Europe-wide]. The countries around those sea-regions are working together, on the government agency level, the industry bodies, the developers, the supply chain and so on. And the Atlantic and Mediterranean can follow this, then I think we can definitely get to [450GW].
You can read the article in full here: Offshore wind must ‘challenge status quo’ to decarbonise Europe.
