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By Stine Jacobsen
COPENHAGEN, June 21 (Reuters) - The world's largest offshore
wind developer Orsted is concerned that Big Oil's
eagerness to harness wind at sea could push up prices for seabed
leases, making the technology less competitive, its chief
executive told Reuters.
European oil firms including Total, BP,
Equinor and Shell have all outlined plans to
speed up investments in renewables, including offshore wind, as
they look to reduce their reliance on oil and gas to satisfy
investors and governments which are demanding reductions in
emissions.
"Short term we have seen it already, and it's a real and
genuine concern," Orsted Chief Executive Mads Nipper told
Reuters in an interview for the upcoming Reuters Events: Global
Energy Transition conference.
He said seabed options around the coast of England, Wales
and Northern Ireland had been awarded at "very high prices" at a
leasing round held by the Crown Estate earlier this year.
"Our concern is that if that inflation continues it will
eventually come to the disadvantage of the speed with which we
accelerate the technology or the competitiveness of the
technology," he said.
He urged politicians to make more seabed available for
offshore wind farms and streamline consenting and permitting
processes. "If substantial amounts are to be made available then
there is going to be enough for everybody".
"For offshore wind, having sufficient availability of seabed
that is even remotely affordable that is just one of the things
that is really, really vital ... It needs to happen quite
urgently," Nipper, who joined Orsted in January, said.
The offshore wind industry is facing a pivotal moment as
governments around the world, excluding China, target installed
capacity of 170 GW by 2030, up from just 24 GW today.
Nipper said he believes there is political commitment to
reach that goal despite the current mismatch between ambitious
climate targets and actual capacity in companies' project
pipelines.
"We are starting to see that move faster already," he said,
pointing to upcoming leasing rounds in Scotland and New York
state.
For more on the Reuters Events: Global Energy
Transition conference, please click here [https://reutersevents.com/events/energy-transition-global/
]
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Jan Harvey)
