He said that in order to maintain support for the sector costs must continue to fall, yet the industry requires a greater level of certainty before it can commit to further investment.
Soe Jensen said Vestas has dedicated itself to bringing more offshore wind to the UK in order to help the sector grow and to help the country’s economy expand.
He said the company has three priorities: it aims to reduce the cost of offshore wind, it wants create more jobs in the sector and it wants to keep the public on board as the industry grows.In order to maintain momentum the industry must demonstrate that the long term cost of energy for offshore can fall to £100 per megawatt-hour.
Soe Jensen said the industry needed a sufficient pipeline of projects going forward to justify investment saying that no one in their right mind would build a factory to employ 2000 people without it.
He added that operation and maintenance jobs require highly skilled workers for long periods of time but a lack of growth in the sector is limiting how many people can be employed.
“We cannot bring down costs alone,” said Soe Jensen, adding that it will require cooperation between the industries and banks to fully recognise the potential of offshore wind in the UK.source: renews.biz
