OWIC co-chair calls for transparency on offshore wind grid connections

Offshore wind grid connections have become a critical delivery risk for large-scale generation projects, according to Adam Morrison, co-chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC). Speaking on The reNEWS Podcast, Morrison said network operators are carrying an unprecedented build burden and the sector needs far greater visibility over how that work is progressing.

‘When you look at it in an execution context, we’ve got generation projects that are dependent on lists of enabling works that are far greater than they generally have been in the past,’ Morrison said. The concern is not simply the scale of the required infrastructure, but the opacity around timelines and any problems that arise along the way.

Offshore wind grid connections and the transparency gap

‘The network operators have got a lot to build, and we’re rooting for them,’ Morrison told the podcast. ‘But we need a bit more transparency over that. We need to make sure that if there are issues with any of the big network projects we know about them and that they’re acted on quickly, and the government acts to help where it can.’

That framing is pointed. Offshore wind projects are not stand-alone assets: they depend on a chain of onshore enabling works, substation upgrades and transmission connections, many of which sit outside developers’ direct control. If a network upgrade slips, a generation project tied to it slips with it, and the timeline risk compounds the financial exposure already weighing on a sector that spent the past few years watching inflation destroy the business cases on early-decade contract awards.

Morrison took over the co-chair role from Richard Sandford, who stepped down after a two-year term. The appointment was made by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, a detail that underscores how directly government has positioned itself as a stakeholder in the sector’s delivery rather than a passive regulator. Morrison’s willingness to press publicly on grid transparency so early in his tenure suggests OWIC intends to use that proximity.

Cost of energy debate: the right time, or too soon?

The grid visibility issue is not the only front OWIC is opening. Morrison said the uncertainty around connections, combined with other execution risks, has prompted the body to examine the cost of energy for offshore wind and what levers might reduce it. The industry has not universally welcomed that conversation.

Some within the sector have privately questioned whether a cost-reduction push is premature while the industry is still recovering from the inflationary correction that undermined projects awarded in the early part of the decade. The argument, essentially, is that asking developers to drive down costs while margins remain under pressure risks compounding a problem rather than solving it.

Morrison acknowledged the tension but said the conversation is worth having. ‘We shouldn’t be afraid to discuss the topic,’ he said. ‘There are some specific factors related to offshore wind cost of energy which we should double down on looking at. I think it’s the right time to look at structural components of the offshore wind cost of energy and I think there are levers that are in government’s hands to help with some of those.’

The emphasis on structural components and government levers is meaningful. Morrison is not pointing at developer efficiency alone; he is indicating that parts of the cost problem are systemic and will require policy intervention to shift. What those levers are, precisely, OWIC has not yet set out publicly, but the framing positions the body’s forthcoming cost-of-energy work as a joint exercise between industry and government rather than a unilateral sector commitment.

The full conversation is available on Spotify, Apple and Amazon, as well as wherever you normally access podcasts.