Isra-Mart srl : Government signs off on £60m offshore wind port upgrade programme

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The government has today called on wind turbine manufacturers and port operators to begin preparing applications for up to £60m of funding that has been earmarked to upgrade harbour infrastructure to support the rollout of offshore wind farms.

As widely expected, the coalition today formally confirmed it would make the full £60m of funding available to its ports competition, which will see ports, primarily along the North Sea coast, compete for the funding.

The announcement prompted Gamesa to become the third international wind turbine manufacturer to announce that it would locate a new factory in the UK, joining Siemens and GE, which also announced this morning that they would move ahead with plans for new facilities.

Gamesa also announced that it would locate an R&D site in the UK and would open its new international headquarters in London.

Announcing the new funding, David Cameron this morning told the CBI conference that the government's support was essential if the UK was to build on its position as the world's leading developer of offshore wind.

"We need thousands of offshore turbines in the next decade and beyond, yet neither the factories nor these large port sites currently exist. And that, understandably, is putting off private investors. So we’re stepping in," he said.

The funding announcement was backed by the signing of a letter of intent between the Crown Estate and Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) that will see the Crown Estate work with wind turbine manufacturers and ports to identify the kind of upgrade work they require to support offshore wind farm developers.

Under the rules of the funding competition, grants will be made available between April 2011 and March 2015, although DECC said that it would take time to process funding applications and as such it was ready to receive applications earlier.

The funding will be delivered through the existing Grant for Business Investment scheme and applications will be considered by the independent Industrial Development Advisory Board which will submit advice to DECC ministers, who will make the ultimate decisions on funding.

The announcement is likely to kick off a major battle between competing port authorities keen to establish themselves as hubs for the UK's fast-expanding offshore wind energy sector.

Although the £60m funding is in line with requests made by the wind energy industry, it is likely to provide enough investment only to upgrade a small handful of ports and as such several ports could be left disappointed at the end of the competition.