UK-based developer 17 Energy Ltd. expects to bring its proposed 1 GW floating offshore wind farm off the Chilean coast ‘to market’ in 2028, co-founder Úna Brosnan told Energy Voice.
“The UK is leading on offshore wind at the minute,” said Brosnan. “Obviously there’s great opportunity there for the supply chain in the UK.”
The new London-based developer was established in March with a mission to “lead the just transition” by developing utility-scale renewable energy projects.
The company is co-led by Brosnan, who is vice chair of trade body RenewableUK, and counts former Carbon Trust offshore wind specialist Dan Kyle Spearman among its founding executives.
It has already begun early discussions with local stakeholders in Chile to develop the approximately £4 billion floating offshore wind farm.
In August, the developer formed a consortium with local Chilean company SC Power, called the Viento Azul Biobío Consortium, with a goal to develop the large-scale floating offshore wind farm in Chile.
Now in the early stages of development, the next steps for the project are likely to include early feasibility and concept designs, followed by environmental studies and grid and off-take studies, Brosnan said.
According to the developer’s indicative development timelines, she expects the company will begin discussions with wind turbine manufacturers in 2028 to source equipment for the project.
“[We are] looking to go to market in 2028 and speak with manufacturers in that space,” said Brosnan. “We would be getting high level power curves and assessing them at the early stages.”
The project is currently in a scoping phase that is expected to last for approximately 45 days, co-founder Daniel Perdomo said on the sidelines of an event in London, and the project must satisfy a remit to be environmentally and socially beneficial to the region.
Brosnan and Perdomo said the developers are also preparing to enter discussions with investors in relation to funding the up to £4 billion project, hoping to garner private sector investment in the overseas floating offshore wind farm.
17 Energy said it counts social and economic equality as top priorities in the fight to tackle the climate emergency, energy security and biodiversity crises, guided by the United Nations’ 17 Sustainability Development Goals.
The company has already started to engage government officials, industry leaders and local communities as part of an effort to create shared benefits across the development lifecycle.
Part of this work will involve building a business case for floating offshore wind and giving local stakeholders the confidence that the technology is “moving” forward, according to Brosnan.
UK manufacturing
The floating offshore wind farm in Chile could present an opportunity for wind turbine and equipment manufacturers, suppliers and service providers to present their wares on the international stage.
It comes as the UK government seeks to grow a domestic wind manufacturing industry to service the offshore wind sector.
Brosnan expressed concerns about the turbulence around project costs stemming from last year’s disappointing UK auction for renewable energy, where the last government failed to procure any offshore wind capacity.
The Treasury said last November that it would invest in UK offshore wind supply chains through the Green Industries Growth Accelerator investment scheme, carving out £960 million of funding for clean technology manufacturing.
Government officials have since pledged to quadruple the UK’s offshore wind sector by 2030 and boost the powers of the Crown Estate for offshore wind leasing.
Last year, the UK government set a target to develop 5 GW of floating offshore wind capacity by 2030, as part of a roadmap to deliver 50 GW of offshore wind by the end of the decade.
Retooling
The development of the UK’s offshore wind manufacturing supply chain is expected to expand opportunities for North Sea operators and engineers to retool.
Great British Energy, the new energy body set up earlier this year with £8.3 billion of funding, took steps this week to develop partnerships with the Scottish government to facilitate building floating offshore wind farms off UK waters.
UK government officials are introducing a “skills passport” overseen by RenewableUK and Offshore EnergiesUK that is expected to help identify transferable skills among oil and gas workers on North Sea platforms that could be relevant to the cleantech industries.
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, and Gillian Martin, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, wrote in a letter last week that they “hope to build on” the scheme’s progress by partnering with the Scottish government.
Although floating offshore wind remains a nascent sector, oil and gas supermajor TotalEnergies is among the global oil companies to have begun deploying floating offshore wind capacity in the North Sea.
In August, the diversified energy company launched a pilot floating offshore wind turbine to supply the Culzean offshore platform in the North Sea that is expected to be operational by the end of 2025.
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