Responding to news that Vattenfall has paused work on its Norfolk Boreas Offshore wind project, Energy UK’s Deputy Director, Adam Berman said:
“The shock news that Vattenfall has paused work on a major offshore wind project should be a wake-up call.
“When up and running, Norfolk Boreas would have powered the equivalent of 1.5 million UK homes. With offshore wind playing such a critical role in our future energy ambitions, it’s deeply concerning when a project that was already underway is stopped in its tracks.
“The industry has been warning for some time that global economic factors driven by recent events are increasing costs for low carbon developers. The news also underlines why there are such concerns right now about how the current investment climate presents a real threat to our future ambitions.
“The Government has set very challenging targets for the expansion of offshore wind in order to bolster our energy security through clean domestic power which can reduce our costly reliance on imported fossil fuels. The Contracts for Difference scheme has been instrumental in the creation of this world-leading industry but, as we recently highlighted, the Government needs to recognise the much-changed economic picture for developers if the [CfD] scheme is to continue delivering in line with the Government’s own targets.
“Industry stands ready to deliver, but without financially sustainable CfD prices, every day that passes will be one in which we could have benefitted from lower energy bills, lower emissions, and a more secure energy system.”