ABSTRACT
Significant future growth in UK wind power capacity will be almost exclusively offshore. The next generation of UK offshore wind farms are moving further offshore, becoming larger in both capacity and physical size, and are being positioned in deeper water than has been the case for many of the previous projects. Significant investment and planning is already underway to achieve this goal but this needs to be accelerated and costs reduced in order to ensure the long-term aim for the deployment of large-scale offshore wind farms is realised. Economies of scale will contribute to bringing down the cost of energy from offshore wind, but additional reductions in the way that wind farm assets are managed (installation, operations and maintenance costs) are also needed in order to finally free the industry from its reliance on heavy financial subsidies. The challenges are vast and encompass the installation phase, operational climate, supply chain, manufacture, installation and operations and maintenance activity (O&M).
