A fair wind

New figures from the European Wind Energy Association show that total European Union offshore wind power now generates nearly 3GW (three gigawatts), from a total of 1,136 wind turbines. That's enough to supply the equivalent of 2.9m average households with electricity - but the figures are dwarfed in comparison with what's to come.

According to the EWEA, another 19GW of offshore wind capacity is fully consented in Europe, and that excludes the development potential in UK waters which is already leased and awaiting planning consent. The UK is leading the way in Europe with 1,341 MW installed. 

As the EWEA figures were reported, Peter Madigan, head of offshore renewables at RenewableUK, highlighted the employment opportunities and said: “We should ensure that new UK-based factories are supplying the turbines for those 19GW of consented wind farms and beyond. This is a once in a generation opportunity and there is no reason why, given the right policy framework, we shouldn't stay on top of the offshore league.”

Many ports have pinned their hopes on the glittering prizes on offer and in January ABP's Port of Hull was celebrating its selection by Siemens as preferred bidder for a UK wind turbine factory.

An artist's impression of the offshore wind turbine manufacturing and export facility planned at Hull gives an idea of the scale of things to come. This may be a relatively new area of activity for the ports sector, but it has reawakened some old arguments in the UK - about state aid, and about the country's turgid planning system.

The old Labour government announced £60m of funding to help establish offshore wind manufacturing at port sites and this was confirmed by the Coalition government. However, there are strings; to meet EU rules on regional aid, the money is only available to 'Assisted Areas', as identified on the UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills 'Assisted Areas Map', which came into effect in 2007 and remains in force until the end of 2013.

That has infuriated politicians and port operators in East Anglia, which is not on the map. In a question to the Prime Minister, Peter Aldous, Conservative MP for Waveney [which includes Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft] said: “The East Anglian coast has some of the highest levels of deprivation in England and an urgent need for infrastructure development, but it has huge potential for creating jobs in the offshore renewables sector.”

At Bathside Bay in Harwich, further down the East Anglian coast, Hutchison Ports (UK) is looking to postpone its container terminal plans until better times and use the site for wind farm related operations in the meantime.

“Bathside Bay offers an excellent opportunity for Round 3 wind farms,” said Paul Davey, HPUK's head of corporate affairs. “It is close to a number of the proposed sites, has ample space, deep water, and sheltered berths. Harwich International Port also has significant experience, having handled components for Greater Gabbard, Thanet and Gunfleet Sands developments already. In fact, we believe more turbines have passed through Harwich than any other UK port.”

Richard Marks, business development director at Royal Haskoning, named Bathside Bay as one of the biggest and best-located sites on the east coast for serving wind farms in UK and European waters.

But the fact remains that, despite Harwich being a pocket of high unemployment, it is not eligible for any of the £60m.

George Kieffer, chairman of the Haven Gateway Partnership, whose members include the ports of Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich, says: “It is not really either the present administration or the previous administration's fault, because within EU rules they can only make that funding available to these assisted areas. It does, however, lead to the ridiculous position that the only area that would qualify in the East of England is Luton - about as far away from the sea as you can get.

“There should be a level playing field and the private sector should make up its mind where it goes and where it makes its investment based on its own criteria. I am personally convinced that, all things being equal, the private sector will choose Harwich because of its deepwater port and sheltered anchorage, the proximity of the wind farms, both in UK waters and across the North Sea in Belgium and Holland, and the availability of sufficient land ... but if you put £60m on the table, perhaps not. The incentive could encourage them to go elsewhere.”

This is an example of the way decisions can be distorted by public subsidy, and there have been numerous examples where public subsidy does not lead to sustainable business creation, says Mr Kieffer.

A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change says: “Just because the rules around funding means it goes to assisted areas, it doesn't mean the government won't be square behind any attempts to get investment elsewhere in the country. In areas like Bathside Bay, if there are great facilities companies may not need an incentive of money from the fund. No one is being left out.”

However, Mr Kieffer says: “Whichever way you look at it - and nobody denies that Hull needs jobs, as do the Tyne and other regions - ultimately these manufacturing facilities [for wind farms] should go where they are best placed, not just to service the UK fields off the southeast coast but also to provide a base from which we can go and get work in Europe. This is not just about UK territorial waters: it is about Europe - for example, Belgium and Holland.”

And that is a key point: while the UK takes top place in offshore wind power and Denmark is second with 854MW, in third and fourth places are the Netherlands (249MW) and Belgium (195GW), with plenty more to come.

The Port of Zeebrugge was chosen as platform and base for the Belgian 165 MW, 55-turbine Belwind development in the North Sea; Bremerhaven in Germany has made clear its aspirations to become a hub port for the offshore wind sector, setting aside a strategic site for the purpose.

Mr Marks says: “We are not competing with the UK in this - we are competing with European countries. This type of development really needs to go to the place which is best placed for the work.”

In this respect, there are concerns that a sluggish planning system will once again push UK ports to the back of the queue.

“There is a real danger that the UK might miss the boat; as well as Bremerhaven, some of the French ports are looking at creating land available for manufacture and I think we might not be able to move quickly enough because of the planning system,” says Mr Marks.

HPUK has been granted two planning variations, extending consent for Bathside Bay until 2021 and deferring work on the A120 until reclamation of the bay - opening up the possibility that Bathside can be put to alternative use before it is required for containers.

However, it took nearly a year to gain these consents and HPUK must still submit a planning application for a wind port. “The planning system does not deliver decisions quickly or cheaply and time is not on our or the UK's side in this as in so many other matters. By the time we have done all of this, will it be too late?” says Mr Kieffer.

He has written to Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles urging him not to call in the local planners' decisions or refer them to an inspector. “Another planning inquiry would kill it and wreck Harwich's chances of jobs.”

HPUK is in discussions with a number of potential wind port users and has the benefit of strong local authority support, says Paul Davey. “Tendring District Council is very supportive and keen to help attract developers to the area.”