Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many offshore wind turbines were installed at locations within (a) UK territorial waters and (b) the UK Exclusive Economic Zone in each year between 2017 and 2023.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Report 2023 states there were 2,776 operational offshore wind turbines in UK waters at the end of 2023.
The Department does not hold data on the number of installed turbines over time or whether they are located in UK Territorial Waters or the UK Exclusive Economic Zone, but does publish estimates of total installed generating capacity. These show that capacity grew by 7.8GW between 2017 and 2023.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the recommendations made in the Offshore Wind Industry Council’s Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report 2023.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government welcomes publication of the report. The Government’s ambition for up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030 and plans to strengthen energy security and attract investment into the UK, means that the skilled workforce must grow. It is expected that the sector will need to grow to support around 90,000 jobs by 2030.
The Government works with industry on the development of a skilled offshore wind workforce through the Offshore Wind Industry Council Investment in Talent Group and the Green Jobs Delivery Group, the central forum for action on green jobs and skills.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the sale of 2.4GW of UK offshore windfarm assets by Macquarie Asset Management to Macquarie Group Limited in April 2023.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The transaction between Macquarie Asset Management and Equitix in April is a commercial matter for the companies involved and has not been assessed by the Department.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to secure (a) employment and (b) training for UK resident workers on the six projects that were successful in Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4; and what the current status is of each of those projects.
Answered by Graham Stuart
All large offshore wind projects must submit a supply chain plan to the Government when bidding for support from the Contracts for Difference scheme. These plans include an applicant’s commitments on addressing skill gaps and shortages. Leasing Round 4 projects have not yet bid for Contracts for Difference due to their stage in the development cycle. All six projects are preparing Development Consent Applications.
The Green Jobs Delivery Group is the central forum for action on green jobs and skills. Through this forum the Government is delivering its green jobs commitments as outlined in the Net Zero Strategy, and the Powering Up Britain Plan.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many jobs the Green Jobs Delivery Group has delivered to date; and if he will set annual green job delivery targets for each year to 2030 for each industrial sector.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Powering Up Britain plan sets out how the Government will grow the economy whilst decarbonising and supporting up to 480,000 jobs in 2030. Over 80,000 jobs are being supported or in the pipeline because of new government policies and spending since 2020.
The Government does not plan to set job targets, but is focused on delivering green jobs. In 2024, the Green Jobs Delivery Group will publish a Net Zero and Nature Workforce Action Plan.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Future Offshore Wind Scenarios project estimated the number of jobs that would be supported by deploying sufficient offshore wind capacity to meet the Government's net zero target in 2050.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Future Offshore Wind Scenarios project did not estimate numbers of jobs. The Offshore Wind Industry Council’s Skills Intelligence Report 2023 estimates that employment in the offshore wind sector will rise from over 32,000 in 2022 to over 104,000 by 2030.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the level of seafarer jobs that will be place in the offshore wind supply chain in each year to 2030.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department does not hold specific information on seafarer job numbers but, as set out in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government estimates that around 90,000 direct and indirect jobs will be supported by the offshore wind sector by 2030.