Dane Wilkins, Head of Renewable Energy Capital at Jones Lang LaSalle responds to the news that RWE Innogy has shelved the development of its flagship Atlantic Array offshore wind farm, capable of producing enough electricity to power 900,000 homes.
“The UK government has pinned many of its energy policy hopes on the success of these offshore wind farms, to meet its clean energy target of sourcing 15% of the country’s power from renewable energy projects by 2020.
“The scrapping of this project puts a serious dent in these plans and will ultimately limit the South West’s potential to benefit from the booming green energy sector in the form of both investment and jobs.
“This is the first cancellation of one of the large offshore wind projects and comes in the face of increasing political uncertainty surrounding renewable energy support levels. Adverse financial conditions and specific project technical challenges in the Bristol Channel have been cited by the renewable energy division of German utility RWE as reasons for dropping the project.”
