TKI maps European subsidy schemes

NETHERLANDS: Government-funded organisation TKI Wind op Zee has issued a report detailing six European countries' subsidy and tax schemes, showing how attractive they are to offshore wind investors.

by David Weston 21 September 2015

Two substations for the 600MW Gemini project are prepared for installation in the Dutch North Sea

TKI commissioned US auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to carry out the research. The report found that if subsidy and tax schemes are designed effectively, they can contribute to the fall of the levelised cost of energy (LCoE) of offshore wind.

TKI is part of the Dutch top-sector policy, which aims to boost the Dutch offshore wind sector through research and development. It is looking to reduce offshore wind costs by 40% by 2020, compared with 2010 prices.

The report looks at the systems in the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, France, Belgium and Denmark.

It concludes: "...the Netherlands and Belgium seem to be slightly riskier for investors, primarily due to price-related risks. On the other end of the risk spectrum are the UK, Denmark and France. This could result in a lower cost of capital, which influences the LCoE."

TKI believes investing in the Dutch market is "slightly riskier for investors due to an electricity price floor being used (that could result in the subsidy provided being insufficient to cover costs) and a reference electricity price based on the yearly average". The UK and Denmark use hourly electricity prices as a reference.

You can read the full report .