MSEP Facts and figures
Summary presentation and graphs from
series 3 ‘Marine Energy’ available for
download here: http://
www.mseproject.net/marine-energy

Renewables:
UK Offshore Wind

There are currently 1075 offshore wind
turbines in UK waters
Renewable UK headlines: *1000MW = 1GW.
Note that 1GW powers ~656 000 homes annually.
3.6 GW - Offshore wind capacity
6.41GW - wind farms in the planning process
1.52GW - wind farms under construction
36.06GW - wind farms in development
2.21GW - wind farms with planning permission
Source: ruk13-016-2_-_offshore_project_timelines_may_2013
http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/wind-energy/offshore-wind/

A comparison within Europe
The number of turbines and MW fully connected to the grid in 2013
Country Belgium UK Germany Denmark Sweden Spain
Number of wind farms 3 8 8 1 1 1
Number of turbines connected 44 212 48 97 16 1
MW connected to grid 192 733 240 350 48 5
Source: http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/files/library/publications/statistics/European_offshore_statistics_2013.

Non-Renewables:
UK Offshore Oil & Gas

Each £1 of capital invested on the UK Continental Shelf
now yields only one-fifth of the oil and/or gas it did in
2002
Source: DECC statistics https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/about/statistics

Total UK Oil production for Offshore Fields
(1975-2013)
Source: DECC statistics https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/pprs/full_production.htm

UK Offshore Energy:
An Overview

UK Energy consumption by sector (DECC,
2013)
Source: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (2013) Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2013, National Statistics, London: TSO.

UK energy mix (2013)
Source: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (2013) Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2013, National Statistics, London: TSO.

UK offshore energy generation
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/295346/1_Total_Energy.pdf

Renewables:
Algal biomass

The Crown Estate estimates that up to 1.5%
of the seabed area could be used for
macroalgae cultivation.
This could give an annual biogas yield
equivalent to around 5% of the natural gas
consumed in the UK in 2009.
Source: Houses of Parliament, The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, POSTNOTE
384 July 2011 Biofuels from Algae: http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/post-pn-384.pdf

Commercial production of biodiesel from
algae is unlikely before 2020.
With an oil yield of 25%, typical for many algae
species, this international industry would need
to be scaled up at least 300 times to produce
5% of the diesel used in the UK in 2009.
Source: Houses of Parliament, The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, POSTNOTE
384 July 2011 Biofuels from Algae: http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/post-pn-384.pdf

The UK has currently more wave and tidal
stream devices installed than the rest of the
world combined.
In 2013, the industry directly supported 1,724
FTEs (full time equivalent jobs)
From 2035, it is expected to employ 20,000
people according to Renewable UK.
It has the potential to bring additional
economic benefits as an exporter of skills,
services, and products.
Source: Renewable UK, Wave and Tidal Energy: http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/
wave-and-tidal/

The industry has the potential to deliver up
to 60GW of electricity,
75% of the UK’s current needs.
The current installed capacity in the UK is
almost 9 megawatts (MW), and the industry
aims to deliver over 120MW by 2020.
Forecasts by the renewables industry estimate
that the sector will be worth £6.1 billion to the
UK economy by 2035 and £50 billion by 2050.
Source: Renewable UK, Wave and Tidal Energy: http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/
wave-and-tidal/

A vast array of technologies has been
proposed in this sector.
Over 300 wave and tidal devices have been
suggested to date, but very few of these are in
an advanced stage of development.
Source: Scottish Entreprise, Marine Renewable (Wave and Tidal) Opportunity Review, December
2005: http://www.oceanrenewable.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/oregreport.pdf

Wave and tidal developers face a number of
challenges on their journey to large-scale
deployment.
• Risks associated with securing finance
• Solving technology challenges
• Gaining connection and access to the UK’s grid network
• Managing consenting processes
Management of these risks in an effective, timely manner will
be important to ensure successful deployment, as well as
to deliver rapid reductions in the cost of energy.
Source: Renewable UK, Wave and Tidal Energy in the UK (Feb 2013)