Policy paper:  What is the value of innovative offshore renewable energy deployment to the UK economy?
03/09/2021
New policy paper examines the potential economic benefit from the deployment of offshore renewable energy technologies 
A new study quantifies the potential economic benefit, in gross value added (GVA) terms, that the UK stands to gain through the deployment of innovative offshore renewable energy (ORE) technologies in domestic and international waters. 
The study, published through a new policy paper from the Supergen ORE Hub, and the Policy and Innovation Group at the University of Edinburgh, highlights the significant potential value to the UK if the UK government invests in developing the local supply chain ahead of deploying these innovative ORE technologies – namely wave, tidal stream and floating offshore wind. 
 
The key results show: 
  • Global deployments of wave, tidal stream, and floating offshore wind technologies produce a total of £24.6bn to £79.6bn in GVA to the UK economy, dependent on supply chain assumptions.  
  • Of this total figure, domestic deployments result in £16.4bn to £41.4bn in GVA for the UK economy. Within this obtained GVA range, a 152% increase in GVA can be observed, due to more ambitious retention assumptions reflecting a stronger UK supply chain. 
  • UK content in international deployments therefore generates £8.2bn to £38.2bn in GVA for the UK economy. Within this obtained GVA range, a 221% increase in GVA can be observed from global deployments, due to more ambitious retention assumptions reflecting a stronger UK supply chain. 
  • Translating this per MW of deployment, domestic ORE deployments result in GVA per MW values which range from £258k/MW to £745k/MW, dependent on technology and retention assumptions. International ORE deployments result in values of £35k/MW to £179k/MW. 
  • Lifetime operational expenditure (OPEX) is the cost centre that contributes the most to the incurred GVA for all technologies and scenarios. In terms of the capital expenditure (CAPEX)-related GVA, the balance of plant supply generates the highest CAPEX-related GVA for floating offshore wind, and the generating device results in the highest CAPEX-related GVA for wave and tidal. 

The document is available to download here.