For the first time, Britain’s growing fleet of wind turbines generated more electricity than gas-fired power plants in the first three months of this year. At the same time, two North Sea offshore wind firms intend to begin a road to net oil and gas production in the North Sea, and the British government has presented a proposal to establish a ‘treasure map’ of the North Sea’s potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.
During the first quarter of 2023, wind power supplied over a third (32.4%) of Britain’s electricity, beating gas, which contributed 31.7%. According to Drax Electric Insights, which reported on the results of Imperial College London professors, this is the first time wind has delivered the biggest percentage of power in any quarter in the history of the country’s energy grid.
Britain’s turbines generated 24 TWh of power during the course of three months. Wind output was 3% greater than in the same quarter last year, while gas output was 5% lower.
According to the report, renewable sources (wind, sun, biomass, and hydro) provided about 42% of the country’s power in the first three months of 2023, fossil fuels supplied 33%, and the rest came from foreign imports and the country’s declining nuclear fleet.
Here, Dr. Iain Staffell of Imperial College London said:
The renewable power revolution has transformed how Britain gets its electricity, making our power grid cleaner and greener,
In the space of a decade, the UK has almost completely cut out coal after relying on the most polluting fossil fuel for over a century to power our country.
Then said:
There are still many hurdles to reaching a completely fossil fuel-free grid, but wind out-supplying gas for the first time is a genuine milestone event and shows what can be achieved when governments create a good environment for investors in clean technology.
Following the closure of Drax’s coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire last month, Britain now has only one coal-fired power station. The plant, which was formerly the largest coal-fired power station in Western Europe, is currently the UK’s single-greatest provider of renewable energy. Four of the power station’s six producing units have been modified to use sustainable biomass during the past decade.
Taking the first steps toward net-zero North Sea oil and gas production
Meanwhile, Cerulean Winds and its partner Frontier Power International have announced plans to invest £20 billion ($25 billion) in the construction of a North Sea Renewables Grid (NSRG), which will provide basin-wide connections providing green power to both offshore oil and gas platforms and larger national grids, assisting in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on the path to net zero.
Following the recent Crown Estate Scotland Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) offshore wind licensing round, the two companies plan to develop three 333 km2 sites with hundreds of floating turbines, producing multiple GW of electricity, in collaboration with consortium partners including NOV, Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy, DEME, and Worley.
The first phase of the NSRG will enable oil and gas companies to make brownfield upgrades, with subsequent stages exporting green power to electrical networks in the southern UK and Europe.
Dan Jackson, founding director of Cerulean Winds, says:
‘The oil and gas sector is wrestling with the challenges of meeting the North Sea Transition Deal emissions reduction targets while supporting UK energy security.’
He continued his speech, saying:
We recognize that to achieve meaningful reductions at the pace required, a reliable basin-wide approach is needed that they can plug into when they are ready for affordable power.
Then he ended his speech by saying:
Early oil and gas electrification supports the country’s energy security, delivers net zero action, and delivers huge benefits to the supply chain and economy, creating 10,000 jobs. With our partners, we will accelerate access to green power and provide the infrastructure for the next phase of the North Sea’s life.
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