The Environmental Audit Committee has today launched a new
inquiry considering how British innovation could hold the key to
tackling climate change, with an early focus on offshore wind.
The UK has taken a leading role in the development and deployment
of some low-carbon technologies, but the Committee on Climate
Change has already identified a number of technologies, such as
nuclear, which have fallen short of expectations on performance
or cost.
The first session of the inquiry, Technological
Innovation and Climate Change, will look at offshore wind
power. The UK has the largest market in the world for offshore
wind, and over the past 10 years, wind power has grown rapidly
due to reductions in the costs of constructing and operating wind
power facilities. Every year the UK has seen a steady increase in
the amount of electricity being generated by wind power, with
statistics for 2019 showing a 3% increase to 20%.
Following the Government’s Offshore Wind Sector Deal in March
2019, the Committee will consider the opportunities that will
maximise the industry’s potential, and that challenges it faces
in delivering greater capacity.
The inquiry launch follows latest estimates that the UK is
expected to exceed the target set out in the third Carbon Budget
due to phasing out coal and moving towards renewable energy
sources. However, it is expected that the fourth and fifth Carbon
Budgets will be much more challenging to meet, and the need for
innovation will be of greater significance.
Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, MP, said:
“From wind to tidal, solar to hydrogen, there are
scientists and engineers who are at the cutting edge of
unearthing what could be part of the solution to a greener
future. Supporting these innovators and industries is crucial if
the UK is to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“During this inquiry, my Committee will be considering a
number of different technological innovations and whether the
Government is grasping this potential and offering the support
they need to succeed.
“The first area we will be looking at will be offshore
wind, which is already contributing significantly to UK
electricity generation, and I look forward to learning how we can
make an even bigger success of this industry.”
Terms of reference
The Committee is inviting written submissions to inform its first
session on offshore wind. Submissions should be submitted through
the Committee’s web portal, and should focus on, but not be
limited to:
- How effective has the
Government’s offshore wind Sector Deal been in moving the sector
towards becoming an integral part of a low-cost, low-carbon,
flexible grid system and boosting the productivity and
competitiveness of the UK supply chain?
- What level of output
can the sector deliver in the UK, and what Government support
would be needed to achieve this?
- How might the UK take
advantage of further technological advances in offshore wind
technology, particularly in relation to floating arrays?
- What support does the
sector require to keep pace with the most cutting-edge
innovations, such as in blade technology?
- What is the UK
industry doing to promote the sustainability of offshore wind
arrays throughout their entire life-cycle from development
through to decommissioning, and to improve maintenance and
end-of-life repair?
-
How well is the UK industry managing the environmental
and social impacts of offshore wind installations, particularly
on coastal communities with transmission-cable landing
sites?
-
How well is Government policy supporting innovation in
transmission technology to improve the efficiency of
electricity transmission?
-
Looking to the future, what can the onshore wind sector
learn from the offshore success story?
Details on formal evidence sessions will be announced in due
course.
