UK's Labour targets port infrastructure to boost floating wind power

The UK opposition Labour Party's proposed national wealth fund would invest in Britain's ports to make them fit for purposes of floating offshore wind projects, sector officials told S&P Global Commodity Insights Oct. 10 at the party's annual conference in Liverpool.

Shadow finance minister Rachel Reeves said Oct. 9 the fund would be set a target of leveraging three times as much private investment for every pound of public money put in.

"It's a sterile argument that public investment crowds out private funds -- actually, it will crowd in private investment," shadow security of state for energy security and net zero Ed Miliband said at a fringe event at the party's annual conference in Liverpool.

"One of the reasons we're not manufacturing wind turbines here is because our ports are not set up to do that. We're proposing as part of our national wealth fund the biggest investment in our port infrastructure since privatization. GBP1.8 billion. That makes it possible for the private investors to come in and manufacture turbines here," he said.

Industry officials said deepwater port infrastructure is needed to accommodate a new generation of floating offshore wind turbines.

The current Conservative government has also recognized the need to support the sector, launching a GBP160 million initiative in May 2022 to boost floating offshore wind manufacturing in Scotland and Wales.

Some 15 GW of floating wind has been leased via the ScotWind round and further 4 GW in the Celtic Sea off Wales.

In the latest low carbon contract generation round organized by the UK government, however, no bids were submitted for floating wind, despite a maximum bid ceiling of GBP116/MWh (2012 prices).

"Ownership matters. We're designing new state institutions as national champions that will be essential to driving a successful economy," Miliband said in fringe meeting comments after his Oct. 9 platform speech to the main conference.

"People say we don't have public ownership of energy in Britain -- we do -- it's just they are foreign state-owned companies like Vattenfall and Orsted. When I'm in Denmark they tell me "we've got your offshore wind jobs.""

Labour plans to use a new public company, GB Energy, to invest GBP1 billion a year to develop clean energy.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was "turning his back on the future" by delaying the ban on sales of new gasoline and diesel cars and ditching plans to phase out gas boilers, Miliband said.

The policy shift is seen as a clear dividing line between the UK's two main political parties ahead of a general election next year.

"We're going to win the argument as to whether the transition is simply an obligation to be managed, or an opportunity," Miliband said.

In September, Sunak said the policy changes were designed to reduce "unacceptable costs" facing households during a cost-of-living crisis.

The shift came after the Conservative Party unexpectedly retained the Uxbridge constituency in a July byelection, the win widely attributed to local opposition to the expansion of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone.