In recent news Galloper
wind farm was pronounced cancelled
despite having positive investor interest. In a recent statement given
out it may not be the final days for Galloper.
RWE reviewed the development status of the Galloper
offshore wind farm as a ROC accredited project.
Despite positive investor interest, including that
of the Green Investment Bank, and support from the project's supply chain
partners the decision was made due to
the fact that the time scales to achieve funding whilst
still achieving accreditation under the Renewable Obligation
were not reasonable to cancel the project which in theory would lower the
possibility of reward.
Today a statement from RWE was issued stating:
"We are investigating all
options in relation to the future of the Galloper
project. This includes
the option of progressing with the project under a CfD regime. This process
naturally involves engaging with a number of different companies, however
at this stage, no appointments have been finalised and as such, we are
unable to provide any further details at this time".
If Galloper
does go ahead it will deliver 340MW to the grid and was planned to host
68 M5000-135
Areva wind turbines.
Offshore wind continues to be a key part of RWE’s renewable
energy strategy. Its offshore operating portfolio will exceed 1GW following
completion of Nordsee
Ost and Gwynt
y Môr and plans to progress development activities
at other offshore projects across Europe, including Triton
Knoll and Dogger
Bank in the UK.
In addition, it has recently entered into a partnership
to progress Nordsee
One in Germany, which is planned to enter construction
next year.
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Back
in October Simon Gray, CEO of the East of England Energy Group (pictured
right outside the 4C Offshore Office), went on the record stating he was
sure another developer will take over the Galloper
Wind farm project after RWE s announcement.
Simon Gray spoke to 4C Offshore stating "it is (Galloper) an attractive
proposition with shallow water, planning consents agreed etc and that the
recent investment from Masdar in
Dudgeon shows that external foreign investment
is available.
London
Array had a similar experience when Shell announced
that they were pulling out and industry reacted badly with the thought
that the project was dead, only for other investors to pitch up.
Simon Gray went on to say "I cannot emphasise enough
the importance of ensuring Government gives more confidence to the supply
chain for investing in the development of offshore renewables if we are
to maximise the benefit to UK PLC in terms of security of supply, job creation
and UK content in major strategic energy developments. We need to
keep a level head and put a strong message out that it is business as usual
and we still have it all to play for.
About East of England Energy Group
The East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) is the industry association for
energy in the East of England, representing over 390 members across the
supply chain.
EEEGR is a non-profit, limited by guarantee organisation.
To
see Galloper Offshore wind farm in the interactive map click here - zoom
in for detail and select vessels to see vessels in the area
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