Dorset Clean Energy Super Cluster
Accelerating UK green growth
& strengthening energy security
A green growth revolution is underway which positions Dorset as a new UK destination for international investment in clean energy. Bringing together private sector organisations, the Dorset Clean Energy Super Cluster (DCESC) is on a mission to unlock investment and align processes to ensure the UK Industrial Strategy can be delivered in Dorset and the English Channel. This will strengthen UK security and resilience, accelerate economic restructuring and transition whilst complimenting energy projects in the Celtic Sea and other parts of the UK.
Dorset has played a significant industrial role in the UK’s energy production since the mid-20th century. Winfrith Atomic Energy was established in the 1950’s and the largest onshore oil field in Western Europe, Wytch Farm, established in the 1960’s, remains in operation today. The region is now poised to play a vital strategically significant delivery role in transition towards decarbonising the UK through a range of investment ready clean energy projects.
Energising Dorset and the UK
Working in collaboration, the Dorset Clean Energy Super Cluster (DCESC) is focussed on the Government missions of Growth and Clean Power in order to help deliver the new UK modern industrial strategy (‘Invest 2035’). This will be achieved by advancing Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and creating the conditions to welcome and unlock up to £28 billion of investment.
Fostering strong partnerships across industry, regulators and government, DCESC is working to align processes, accelerate delivery, stimulate transformation and create real benefits to host communities; including the re-purposing of nuclear and naval sites; kick starting a new era of training, job creation and business growth opportunities.
Dorset will help Britain towards becoming a clean energy superpower by attracting scarce international investment to the UK, stimulating supply chain development and export opportunities through advancing clean power and energy infrastructure delivery.
The Opportunity
Dorset presents multiple opportunities to advance NSIPs by harnessing its unique geography and geology, whilst leveraging the exceptional deepwater port at Portland. With an estimated investment level across all projects of £28 billion – the UK and Dorset has a strategic opportunity to enable a once in a generation transformation to drive and deliver green growth and clean power. This accelerates progress towards delivering Government ambitions set out in Invest 2035 and its commitments to clean power by 2030 and Net Zero by 2047.
Investment Opportunities are centred around the energy hub located at the Portland Green Energy Island, Portland Port, Dorset, include:
- Offshore Wind in the English Channel
- A deepwater, offshore wind hub to construct and service the renewable sector
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS)
- Clean hydrogen import and storage
- Nuclear Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) at Dorset Innovation Park, formally known as Winfrith
- Related opportunities such as grid improvements, green hydrogen production and import, floating solar and desalination and data.
Benefits
A Clean Energy Super Cluster, hosted at the Portland Port hub in Dorset will energise the UK by:
- Attracting £28 billion of international investment into the UK
- Unlocking investment in Dorset and the English Channel to strengthen UK security and resilience, complimenting energy projects in other parts of the UK and dispersing benefits across the UK
- Facilitating 2GW of offshore wind, helping to power over 3 million households
- Generating new power sources in the South to tackle energy shortages and economic constraints necessary to power economic growth and existing business operations
- Expediting rapid deployment of deep fixed offshore wind solutions in the English Channel to compliment Celtic Floating Offshore wind
- Creating a 40-60ha deepwater hub port for offshore wind servicing
- Abating and locking away up to a gigatonne of CO2 to reduce the pace of global warming
- Providing for up to one billion standard m3 (bcm) of hydrogen storage as an alternative clean fuel
- Boosting nuclear power baseload to kick start clean growth sectors
- Generating an estimated development and construction expenditure of £17.2 billion
- Creating a UK GVA boost of £5.4 billion (including supply chain and wage effects)
- Supporting approximately 20,000 construction jobs in the UK
- A predicted GVA uplift in Dorset of circa £700m with supply chain and wage effects
- Delivering a predicted 1, 200 direct full time equivalent (FTE) jobs in operational stages, generating a further £75m per annum over 25 years, rising to 1,600 FTE and £100m GVA per year with supply chain and wage effects included.
Contact us
To find out more on the potential investment opportunities please contact
Matthew Piles, Dorset Council (matthew.piles@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk).