PROJECT PIPELINE
50GW of offshore wind will require thousands of turbines to be installed. And with projects being constructed in ever busier spaces, this poses a serious risk of delays and outright refusals to consent to build. This applies especially to offshore areas where impact on birds and marine life may increase, as congestion becomes more of an issue and cumulative impact becomes a real threat to gaining consent.
Project Pipeline aims to streamline the consenting process for offshore renewable energy generation and expedite site development, enabling the ambitious capacity levels required for Net Zero and Energy Security.
At ORE Catapult, we aim to mobilise industry and develop data aggregation, digitalization and collaboration solutions.
Image credit: Vattenfall | EOWDC
We are already seeing how the use of new technology is helping to increase our knowledge of environmental interactions across the offshore wind sector. Through enhanced and more efficient data gathering, these technologies have the capacity to create greater certainty around the potential environmental effects of offshore wind, thereby reducing risk and streamlining decision-making during the consenting process.”
Caroline Whalley
ORE Catapult’s Environmental Specialist
THE CHALLENGE BETWEEN NET ZERO & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Drastic effort is required to reduce consenting timelines, with the UK government looking to cut consenting timelines from four years to one. However, regulators will require evidence that accelerated development can be conducted in a manner where species impact is mitigated. Additionally, deployment strategies will need to consider other sea users so that project pipelines can be expanded, and the economic opportunity maximised.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
We launched our work in this area in 2023. It started with a high-profile thought leadership piece and workshop on the role of innovation in decision-making and faster consenting. It set out how data and digital solutions can create greater certainty in data collection and support streamlining of the process. Read the report prepared by Caroline Whalley, our Environmental Specialist.
Image credit: Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group via Ian Hastie
CONTACT OUR TEAM
