Investing in green technology isn't just good for the environment, it's good for communities and jobs too.
Clean growth means growing our national income while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Offshore wind is a perfect example of this; the industry has brought billions of pounds worth of investment to the UK whilst significantly contributing to lower CO2 emissions.
Through our 11 UK offshore wind farms, we avoid nearly 3.9 million tonnes of CO2 annually and, by 2021, we’ll have invested £13 billion in the UK. But we won’t stop there. Our vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy.
UK leading the world
Let’s renew our mission to build a clean and affordable energy future, says our former UK Managing Director Matthew Wright.
In the last 10 years, wind turbines have more than doubled in power. Innovation – not only in components but also in how we operate and maintain our wind farms – has played a huge part in helping to slash costs. As our wind farms have got bigger and further from shore we’ve had to pioneer new ways of working. Hear from Miguel Pacheco Andrade about innovation in foundations and learn how we’re using autonomous robots to inspect massive 80m blades.
Clean growth is not just about generating more clean electricity. It’s about growing our national income too. Renewable electricity must be affordable and the finance sector has a big part to play in delivering the UK’s carbon targets. As our wind farms have got bigger, we’ve had to adapt the way we finance them, Kunal Patel, Head of Partnerships and Structured Solutions tells us more.
Businesses all over the UK should be taking advantage of the low carbon economy, says Pete Clusky in this blog about the growing UK supply chain opportunities. And there’s opportunities for businesses outside of the supply chain too, with our 100% renewable energy for business tariffs, there’s no reason that UK PLC can’t be powered by green energy.
Aside from the significant environmental benefits of our activities, which deliver on a national scale, we want to have positive impact in the communities in which we operate, from educational partnerships to sponsoring local events. Our community benefit fundshave already donated over £2.5 million to around 200 community projects up and down the UK coast. Natasha Nanuck, Senior Stakeholder Advisor tells us more.