Isra-Mart srl:Carbon Trust: UK to make waves in global offshore wind industry

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The UK's burgeoning strength in providing operations and maintenance services to offshore wind farms makes it well positioned to capture a significant share of a global market that is set to top £170bn a year by 2050, new research has found.

Analysis by the Carbon Trust to be released later today reveals that the offshore wind industry could deliver a gross contribution to UK GDP of up to £10bn a year in real terms, or £100bn cumulatively between 2010 and 2050.

The Trust estimated that global offshore wind capacity will reach up to 1,150GW by 2050, before examining the jobs and revenues that will result for each segment of the industry, including turbines, foundations, connection and transmission, installation, and operation and maintenance services.

The report predicts that, with construction of the 1GW London Array underway and plans for the giant Round 3 wind farms already in place, the UK has established a leadership position that should allow it to account for around 10 per cent of the global market by 2050.

It estimates that as a result the UK offshore wind industry will employ over 230,000 people, of which 80 per cent would be involved in exporting products and services.

While operations and maintenance are expected to contribute the most to the UK economy, turbine manufacture and installation were close behind, the Trust said.

Benj Sykes, director of innovations at the Carbon Trust, argued that the analysis showed the strategic importance of offshore wind in delivering long-term growth and energy security.

"The economic prize for the UK economy is vast, and we have to grab it now. We are in an excellent position to be a global market leader," he said. "If we seize this green growth opportunity, the UK will benefit from hundreds of thousands of new jobs, a booming new export market and billions of pounds of business benefits."