Time to turbocharge offshore wind, says National Grid boss

wind farm

Offshore wind turbine construction must ramp up dramatically if Britain is to hit Boris Johnson's green targets, the boss of National Grid has said.

John Pettigrew warned that the country does not have enough project in the pipeline to meet the Prime Minister's pledge to deliver a four-fold increase in offshore wind capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2030 as part of efforts to slash carbon emissions.

Schemes take a long time to develop because of planning regulations, the need for cable infrastructure and a host of other hurdles, Mr Pettigrew said.

He added: "To deliver 40 gigawatts of offshore wind you are going to need something like 14 major projects to run simultaneously.

"Historically we have probably had something like four running simultaneously in the UK, so things like planning and getting the right alignment between policy and regulation is going to be really important."

One major project, Vattenfall's planned Vanguard wind farm off the coast of Norfolk, had its development consent quashed in February after a High Court challenge by campaigners.

John Pettigrew, chief executive of National Grid, said "an awful lot of work needs to be done" to get the right policies and regulation in place for the UK to meet its target of cutting carbon emissions by 78c by 2035 and net zero by 2050.

He was spoking as the company announced a partnership with German utility RWE to develop offshore wind projects in the US.

National Grid is a partner of Cop26, the international United Nations climate change conference being hosted by the UK in Glasgow in November.

The FTSE 100 company owns the main UK electricity and gas transmission networks, although it is selling a majority stake in the gas division.

This year it also bought Britain's biggest electricity distributor, Western Power Distribution, for £7.8bn from its US owner.

The two deals will increase the proportion of electricity assets in the grid's portfolio from 60pc to 70pc. They mark a major bet on the shift towards electric cars and greater use of renewable electricity.

Mr Pettigrew said there is much to do to get the UK ready for far more electric cars on the road, adding: "We need to get on with it."

M e Johnson is banning sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, meaning more strain on British power supplies and sparking a race to retool the network so it can cope with a surge in overnight demand when vehicles are charging.

In January, the energy regulator Ofgem recommended National Grid be stripped of its role balancing electricity demand and supply, which would be handed to an independent body.

It believes the move is necessary to help manage a power system that is becoming more complex due to the rise of renewable power, while avoiding conflicts of interest with National Grid.

Officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) are considering Ofgem's recommendations.

Mr Pettigrew said: "We are working with Beis and Ofgem to look at the institutional arrangements to support the energy transition.

The next step is that Beis will issue a broader consultation on institutional arrangements. Whether that is this side of the summer recess or after I am not sure, but I have been told it will be this year."

National Grid reported a 5pc fall in annual underlying operating profit to £3.28bn due to the impact of coronavirus.

It recommended a final dividend to bring its full-year payout to 49.16 pence, up 1.2pc.

Shares rose 1pc to 939p, valuing the company at £33.4bn.