Chris Loveridge, Specialist in Manufacturing and Industrial Sales at Hays, shares his thoughts on the current situation in the UK renewable energy market. An expert in all aspects of the manufacturing and industrial sales markets, he would be happy to hear from anyone interested in this post by email or on LinkedIn.
There has been a lot of good news in the renewable energy market in the last few weeks, across the wind, tidal and solar sectors. Across the industry there is an increase in demand and a reduction in cost. It is estimated that by 2050, the global renewable energy market could be worth up to £340 billion, with the UK accounting for 20% of this. However, there still remains a slight concern over whether there will be sufficient initial investment to capitalise on this opportunity.
February saw the opening of the world’s biggest offshore windfarm, the £1.2 billion Walney scheme, which has more than 100 turbines, generating enough power for 320,000 homes. The windfarm was a landmark achievement in a number of ways. It was the quickest-built of its kind, with all turbines and cables installed within less than six months, and it achieved considerable cost reductions. It was also supported by foreign pension funds, showing that there is international interest in investing in UK renewable energy. The success of this scheme suggests that UK wind power could be extremely valuable in future.
A recent report by the Energy and Climate Committee suggests that the UK could also be a leading exporter of wave and tidal power equipment and expertise, if there is sufficient investment in the area. The UK is currently the world leader in wave and tidal energy technologies, owning seven of the eight full-scale prototype devices in the world. The concern is that government proposals for marine and tidal only extend to 2017, meaning that without further investment, the UK could lose their initial lead in this area.
Similarly with solar power, there is a lot of potential but concern that this will not be realised due to lack of government subsidises. It has recently been claimed that 4 million homes will be solar-powered by 2020, a dramatic increase in ambition for the industry. There have been a number of recent developments that have helped to improve the technology and to reduce the cost, meaning that the cost of solar panels has dropped by 45% since 2009. However, the government has also greatly reduced the original incentives offered to households who installed the solar panels, leading to a recent decline in interest.
Do you think the recent growth in the UK renewable energy market is sustainable? Do you think there will be sufficient investment from the government or from private companies to ensure that growth continues?
