UK likely to miss offshore wind target

THERE ARE doubts whether the £100bn ($164bn) required by the UK offshore wind sector by 2020 can be found and if the industry has the ability to deliver the planned capacity in such a short timescale. Under the third round of the UK's offshore wind programme, the country wants to expand its offshore wind capacity from around 1 gigawatt (GW) to 33-40 GW by 2020. That means a further 25 GW would need to be added on top the 8 GW of capacity already under construction. The Crown Estate, which owns the UK's territorial seabed and is responsible for the programme, says the required investment includes £60bn-70bn for wind turbines, £10bn-20bn for power-transmission networks and another £10bn-20bn f