Eleven offshore wind developers – bp, EnBW, Fred Olsen Seawind, Parkwind, RWE, ScottishPower Renewables, Shell, SSE, Total Energies, Vattenfall and Ørsted – are partnering with the Carbon Trust to make future offshore wind more sustainable.
The partners will work in collaboration with the Carbon Trust as part of the new Offshore Wind Sustainability Joint Industry Programme to develop the first industry-backed methodology and guidance to measure and address the carbon emissions associated with offshore wind farms throughout their life cycle, including emissions from the manufacturing of materials and installation of wind farms.
The aim of this work is to help the global offshore wind industry scale as sustainably as possible and continue its important contribution towards meeting the world’s net-zero target by 2050 and limiting the most extreme impacts of climate change.
A common standard will ensure that the scale of installation needed is delivered in a low-carbon way and encourage comparability across developers and assets.
The developers further added that as demand for renewable energy grows, the offshore wind industry needs to scale up rapidly to meet this level of ambition, and this must be done in a sustainable way.
Building on the decarbonisation efforts at an individual wind farm level, a collaborative industry effort will be key to creating a consistent approach to account for carbon impacts, increase transparency of supply chain emissions, and accelerate engagement across the value chain
The first project delivered as part of the Offshore Wind Sustainability Joint Industry Programme will:
- Develop the first standardised methodology to enable developers to calculate the life cycle emissions of their offshore wind assets, including their upstream supply chain emissions, the construction phase, and the operation phase.
- Engage with the industry to improve data quality and availability and promote greater supply chain transparency.
- Identify key carbon emission drivers and hotspots in the offshore wind value chain and wind farm life cycle.
According to Jan Matthiesen, Director, Offshore Wind at the Carbon Trust, said “global climate targets can’t be met without stepping up renewable energy generation, and offshore wind is particularly crucial to the world’s transition away from fossil fuels.”
Energy still accounts for 73% of global emissions, which makes a fast transition from fossil fuels to renewables the single most important climate action
Ingrid Reumert, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Stakeholder Relations at Ørsted, said
The programme officially kicks off in January 2023, with the methodology expected to be released for use across the industry by 2025.
