Government boosts offshore wind investment at COP29

The government has launched a bonus scheme to incentivise offshore wind development in coastal regions and oil and gas communities in the UK.

Announced by the prime minister at the COP29 summit, the scheme is designed to reward firms for green investment that accelerates the country’s transition to clean energy and creates jobs.

Offshore wind projects will be awarded a Clean Industry Bonus (CIB) of £27m per gigawatt, reaching up to £200m for a 7-8 gigawatt scheme.

Scotland, Wales, the North-east and North-west are expected to reap the rewards of private offshore wind investment, targeting local suppliers to deliver wind blades, cables and ports.

Also coinciding with the COP summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, ScottishPower announced it had sealed a £1bn deal with Siemens Gamesa for its East Anglia TWO wind farm off the Suffolk coast, which is expected to power almost one million homes.

Siemens Gamesa, the wind subsidiary of Siemens Energy, will provide 64 wind turbines at its 1,300-employee blade factory in Hull.

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Keith Anderson, chief executive of ScottishPower, said: “Getting more projects like East Anglia TWO off the blocks quicker will turbo-boost the UK’s supply chain, giving companies like Siemens Gamesa the confidence to invest in facilities like this blade factory in Hull.

“We’ve doubled our investment and are ready to play our part with gas it gets barriers out the way to build more projects like this, alongside the electricity networks needed to ferry green, homegrown power across the country.”

The agreement is part of a £24bn of UK green infrastructure investment pledge by Scottish Power’s Spanish owner, Iberdrola, made several weeks ago at the government’s International Investment Summit.

In July the Labour government lifted the Conservatives’ ban on onshore windfarms, which was in place for nine years.