UK govt opens GBP-160m floating wind fund for expressions of interest

The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on Friday said that a GBP-160-million (USD 200m/EUR 189m) floating offshore wind fund is now open for expressions of interest.

The government is seeking information on how to spend the funding, which was unveiled in October last year, to support the industry. The Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS) is intended to back deepwater port infrastructure and private investment in new factories to produce components for floating offshore wind.

As set out in the British Energy Security Strategy, the government will target up to 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030, including up to 5 GW of floating wind. A total of 15 GW of floating offshore wind was announced in Scotland as part of the ScotWind leasing round, while another 4 GW is to be leased in the Celtic Sea.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the fund's launch advances the government’s ambitions “to accelerate offshore wind as a source of affordable, homegrown energy for the UK and drive down bills for households.”

The request for information will close on July 15.

Simultaneously, BEIS announced the appointment of Tim Pick as “the first UK Offshore Wind Champion.” With long experience of advising on the development of energy projects, he will now chair the Offshore Wind Acceleration Taskforce (OWAT). Pick most recently acted as head of Energy, Resources and Infrastructure at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer until his retirement in April.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.247/EUR 1.179)

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