In February, EnBW and bp were jointly selected as preferred bidder for the two leases in the UK Offshore Wind Round 4, the first such UK leasing round since 2010. This marked bp’s entry into the UK’s offshore wind power sector, currently the largest in the world, and was further progress towards bp rapidly building a world-class wind energy business. EnBW currently has onshore wind assets in Germany, France and Sweden and operates four offshore wind assets in the German Baltic Sea and North Sea.
These leases will play a critical role in helping deliver the UK government’s aim of producing enough offshore wind to power every UK home, quadrupling the country’s generating capacity to 40GW by 2030 and have confirmed the names of their planned new offshore wind projects in the Irish Sea – Morgan and Mona. They are committed to ensuring the local supply chain contributes to these offshore wind developments and have launched a dedicated supplier portal whereby local companies can pair their skills with the projects’ needs. The portal provides access for companies of all sizes to register their interest for future work.
The project is encouraging UK-based suppliers to register their interest at enbw-bp.com/suppliers, particularly those with connections across North Wales and the northwest of England as they are looking to maximise local content in the procurement approach, benefitting the nations and regions closest to the wind farms. The supplier registration portal will then connect prospective suppliers with the project’s procurement team.
The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership has published its Energy & Low Carbon Sector Plan. Written by business leaders and industry experts from across Lancashire’s energy and low carbon sector, the plan sets out an ambitious vision for the county.
Lancashire has a concentration of low carbon energy assets including nuclear, wind, marine and battery technologies with particular, specialist strengths in nuclear and wind. There are 5,200 Lancashire businesses operating in the energy & environment sector which include a broad range of renewable businesses. These businesses employ 40,000 workers. In addition to which, it is home to cutting-edge advanced manufacturers and world-leading engineering companies which provide the technical innovation and design expertise which contribute to a unique low carbon ecosystem.
This Energy & Low Carbon Plan not only articulates the scale of the opportunity in front of Lancashire, it also identifies the policy and funding interventions – at both the local and regional level – needed to realise that opportunity.
The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership will continue to work with the business-led Energy & Low Carbon Sector Group to develop business-led projects and identify strategic collaborations with other LEP areas. It will also look for proactive opportunities to influence national and regional policy to ensure the voice of the Lancashire’s energy & low carbon sector is represented and heard at all levels, with Lancashire getting the recognition it deserves in this space.
The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership will produce a delivery plan setting out in detail how we will implement the Energy & Low Carbon Sector Group’s recommendations. This sector plan is just the beginning and the LEP will continue to identify new ways to develop and promote the sector, ensuring activity remains relevant and responsive to emerging opportunities.
The Energy & Low Carbon Sector Plan is available to view here