Tuesday 27 September 2011

Oil and Gas legacy can make transition to renewables cheaper

A new report claims that Scotland's oil and gas knowledge can help reduce the heavy cost of offshore wind by up to 20%. The 'Guide to Offshore Wind and Oil and Gas Capability' estimates that over the average life cycle of a generic offshore wind farm the oil and gas sector could deliver £330 million of savings.

According to the report from Scottish Enterprise, the UK is set to be the largest market for offshore wind during the 2011-2015 period, with up to 10GW of capacity installed by 2020.

Scottish Enterprise director of energy and low carbon technologies, Adrian Gillespie, said, "With the UK offshore wind market set to grow rapidly over the next four years, and the Scottish Governments ambitious renewable energy generation targets, we must ensure Scotland is best placed to capitalise on these opportunities.

"Scotland has over 40 years experience in the oil and gas sector, which could greatly benefit the offshore wind sector. By encouraging greater collaboration and knowledge sharing between these two important sectors, we will create a lasting and positive effect on the Scottish economy."

The report included a case study from Xodus Group, an example of an oil and gas company who has started a transition into low carbon renewables. The company says it now makes £2 million of its turnover from the sector, and predicts this figure will rise to £10 million by 2015.