UK Offshore Wind Energy policy puts sector viability at risk

In a paper published today by LSE Enterprise  I compare UK policy for offshore wind energy to the bygone era of state aid and protectionism in European aviation. Tying subsidies to local jobs is doomed to fail in the same way that it failed in air transport: Cost reduction and innovation will be held back, thus threatening the survival of any local manufacturing and research jobs created through demands for "supply chain plans". Uncertainty over future UK offshore wind energy market capacity is also holding back investment and acting as a deterrent to competition.

The paper has a foreword by my LSE colleague Frank Vibert, and was funded by a research grant from MHI Vestas Offshore Wind.