Page 69 - Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change
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Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change







                               Figure 22: MHI-Vestas 8.25 MW turbines and Siemens Gamesa
                                   7 MW turbines relative to Blackpool Tower in size  [xxii]





























                   In fact, local sourcing and focus were key success factors in the realization of this project,
                   as the project entailed buy-in from, and benefits to, the local Cumbrian communities and
                   involved use of more than 50 local UK suppliers during construction, supporting the growth
                   of offshore wind ‘clusters’ around the entire country.
                   Furthermore, construction of the Walney Extension was coordinated from Ørsted’s West
                   Coast Hub, which also services three other wind farms (Barrow, Walney and West of Duddon
                   Sands). The Hub, located in Barrow, now hosts the project’s operations and maintenance
                   teams, whose ongoing activities mean support for more than 250 direct jobs in Cumbrian
                   regions. The far-reaching network effects of the project’s success are evident in the £15
                   million Walney Extension community fund that Ørsted has set up to support local projects
                   and organizations, including an annual £100 000 allowance for a skills fund to promote
                   education, support local students and increase uptake of STEM subjects.



               The example of Cumbria also shows that political support and economic incentives by national
               governments are needed to make the offshore wind sector a success story. The U.K.’s commitment
               to furthering this sector saw offshore wind’s share of annual U.K. generation increase from 0.8 per
               cent in 2010 to 6.2 per cent in 2017, and it is expected to reach around 10 per cent in 2020. To
               facilitate continual growth and to capitalize on projections that building up to 30 GW of offshore wind
               by 2030 could account for over £40 billion of infrastructure spending in the next decade, the U.K. has
               signed an Offshore Wind Sector Deal as part of its Industrial Strategy. This deal also seeks to increase
               representation of women in the country’s offshore wind workforce to at least one-third by 2030.
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               Cumbria’s project, therefore, not only demonstrates the innovativeness, survivability, high potential,
               reliability and cost-competitiveness of offshore wind technology, it also underscores that decarbonizing
               electricity supply is possible and must be prioritized for combatting climate change. To this end, further
               exploration of the potential of clean energy technologies is vital for any city or region looking to tackle
               climate change.









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