In a major blow for the government’s own energy ambitions, the Danish energy company Orsted canceled the plans for a huge wind pace off the coast of the East Yorkshire.
The Hornsea 4 project would have become one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world with a potential capacity of 2.4 GW – enough to supply more than a million houses.
Orsted said that the project no longer had an economic meaning, despite the signing of a 15 -year contract with the British government guaranteeing to sell power at an agreed price.
The offshore wind sector of the United Kingdom has been faced with arrow costs in recent years, as the government has recognized.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said that he had recognized “the effect that the constraints at high level of inflation and supply chain have global on industry across Europe”.
But it is the second developer to withdraw from a large offshore project.
The Swedish company Vattenfall interrupted the development of a 1.4 GW wind farm off the coast of Norfolk in July 2023, again due to the increase in costs.
Thay Project was sold to the German energy company RWE, who said she was planning to see the project.
However, the difficulties of offshore developers are faced with raising important questions about the viability of government’s own power by 2030 targets – one of the five “missions” of the Labor Government.
Just over half of the country’s power currently comes from wind, solar, nuclear and biomass – organic matter. The government wants to increase this to 95% by 2030 – so in only five years.
In order to reach this target, the United Kingdom will have to triple the offshore wind capacity and double the amount of solar and terrestrial wind energy on the system, according to the estimates of Aurora Energy.
It will also need a significant upgrade of the electricity network with 620 miles of new power lines as well as substations and other equipment.
Many local communities postpone the prospect of a new major energy infrastructure near their home.
Some industry experts – as well as conservative parts and reforms – claim that the 2030 target is not achievable.
Dieter Helm, professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford, has long argued that the construction of this infrastructure in the time scale would be almost impossible.
“By not having achieved a very short term goal, it will maximize the costs of trying,” he warned.
Chris Stark, the head of the government Clean Power 2030, conceded the target – as he said – “Bloody Hard”, but with a “Herculean effort”, he can be reached.
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, accepts the plan that he is ambitious and controversial, but it is categorical that it is essential to: “Cut the bills, approach the climate crisis and offer us energy security”.
The government said he was planning to work with Orsted to recover Hornsea 4 “back on the right track” and said he thought that the clean power mission was always achievable.
“We have a solid pipeline of projects to provide its own power by 2030 and our approach led by the mission guarantees that we can head through global pressures and individual commercial decisions to achieve our objectives,” said a spokesperson.
