Floating wind farms 'will create ten of thousands of UK jobs', says study

Energy consultants Opergy - based at Norwich - has taken an in-depth look at the prospects for the industry as a natural successor to older energy sectors such as oil and gas as the UK transitions to green energy options to meet climate change goals.

Authors Johnathan Reynolds and Martin Dronfield look at risks to developing the sector as they forecast a workforce of between 22,000 and 67,000 people. They envisage a need for the floating turbines to be located as close to static offshore wind farms as is practicable.

The Southern North Sea around the East Anglian coast is home to a fast-growing renewables sector with a number of large-scale wind farms, as well as a well-established offshore gas industry.

The study - compiled in partnership the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult’s Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (FOW CoE) - suggests a base output of 18GW will require an active workforce of more than 31,000 employed in floating offshore wind by 2040.

"The scale and number of FOW assets to be towed from the onshore fabrication and assembly port to the installation site suggests that minimising the sailing distance of these towing journeys will play an increasingly important cost effectiveness role in the FOW sector and must be factored into future planning," the report states.

"This will drive the need for these facilities to be in the UK and located as close to the offshore development zones as is practical and will provide an opportunity and incentive to UK industry and government to stimulate and enable several UK ports to be able to deliver the fabrication, marshalling and assembly services needed for these global scale FOW assets."

The scale of jobs created will depend on the strategy the UK chooses to pursue, the report says, as it looks at the skills that will be needed. It identifies skills shortfalls in a number of areas -- including developing the projects and seeking consent, project management, working with electrical and high voltage electrical systems and fabrication and advanced manufacturing know-how. It also predicts a digital skills shortage.

The authors highlight the need to minimise obstacles for transitioning from traditional oil and gas and military sectors - particularly for marine operations and maintenance activities.

Opergy director Mr Dronfield, said: “The UK is already home to the world’s largest deployment of floating offshore wind and one of the largest offshore wind markets in the world. Floating turbines are now being deployed in deeper waters, which unlocks huge new areas for offshore wind deployment around the UK. Floating Offshore Wind offers huge opportunities, including supporting the UK in reaching net zero by 2050.

“The scale of the opportunity must not be underestimated. By 2040, we could see over 31,000 active jobs in FOW for a base case deployment scenario of 18GW. Whilst it is clear the UK has the potential to be world leaders in FOW, it also highlights that it is vital we address our potential skills shortage in order to achieve this."

Challenges include creating dedicated training centres close to ports and fabrication facilities in areas such as subsea engineering and marine operations. The study urges working closely with existing offshore wind skills programmes to ensure the sector attracts the best talent.

Ralph Torr, head of floating wind at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, said: “Access to the right skills shall be vital to the success of floating offshore wind in the UK and internationally. The UK already has extensive experience in offshore wind and oil and gas.

“Combined, these skills sit at the heart of what we need to deliver floating offshore wind projects. However, the deployment of floating offshore wind between 2030 and 2050 is unprecedented in its speed and scale.

“As such, we need to ensure that we play an active role in developing and sharing skills, knowledge and experience. We look forward to creating a large, highly skilled and flexible workforce to deliver our offshore energy needs to 2050 and beyond.” he added.

Opergy's report looks at the various skills that will be required to support a floating offshore wind sector in the UK (Image: Principle Power, Artist: DOCK90)

Melanie Onn, deputy chief executive of trade body RenewableUK, welcomed the study as "timely" for an offshore sector which as a whole is set to employ 100,000 people by the end of the decade. Floating wind would play a "key role", she said.

"It highlights the wide range of unique skills needed to enable us to scale up floating wind successfully in the years ahead. It shows that there are the gaps in our current workforce which we must address immediately so that we can build up an innovative new industry in the UK, including a vibrant supply chain. This will provide opportunities for us to export our goods and services around the world, as we are a global leader in this cutting-edge technology," she said.

“We need all parts of the energy sector to work together to get us there. This is why, for example, we're encouraging workers with transferable skills from the oil and gas sector to bring their valuable expertise to floating wind."