Giant UK offshore wind farm ‘at risk without government support’

From Energy Live News

By Dimitris Mavrokefalidis

The developer of the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Yorkshire has urged the government to offer targetted support

Image: Orsted

Rising supply chain costs and other financial pressures are threatening the development of what could be the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Britain.

The Hornsea Three Offshore Wind Farm is expected to have a capacity of almost 3GW and generate enough energy to power three million homes.

Energy giant Orsted, which is behind the construction of the massive wind farm, has said it needs more government support to achieve project progress.

In a statement, Duncan Clark, Head of Orsted UK & Ireland, said: “Since the auction, there has been an extraordinary combination of increased interest rates and supply chain prices.

“Industry is doing everything it can to manage costs on these projects but there is a real and growing risk of them being put on hold or even handing back their CfDs.”

Mr. Clark has called on the government to offer targeted support on investments such as tax breaks.

A government spokesperson told ELN: “The government is encouraging investment in renewable generation including through £30 billion to support the green industrial revolution, and just last year our renewable energy auctions contracted record amounts of clean energy.

“We are working together with the sector on how we can further increase our energy security and independence through greater renewable deployment.”