The United Kingdom will likely be the largest market for offshore wind with a combined pipeline of nearly 50 GW of projects.
Based on an estimated capacity of 30 GW of offshore wind by the year 2022, and utilizing studies by consultancy group BVG of more than 67 projects, the report illustrates how under even favorable conditions, energy costs are at a risk of falling to £0.10/kWh by year 2022; however, a cost of nearer £0.12/kWh is increasingly probable.
The Key zones highlighted for potential cost reductions are in operation, improved power output and reliability of turbines. The upfront costs will likely remain high in the near future, unless there is an improvement in external factors, like the cost of steel.
The large scale deployment of offshore wind in the United Kingdom would bring about large benefits, including up to ($100 billion) in industrial development, plus an additional $22.4 billion in government revenue between years 2011 and 2022. At the same time emissions of carbon dioxide might be reduced by up to 800 million tonnes of CO2 over the same period.