Big ports say that the UK’s transition towards net zero is threatened by delays in the approval of new infrastructure, which puts billions of dollars of investment into offshore wind schemes as well as other essential upgrades at risk.
The British Ports Association has written to both the government and Labour to urge them to take action in order to clear up the backlog harbour orders. They also asked for the necessary legislation to allow ports to change their infrastructure to support offshore wind project.
Ed Miliband, the shadow energy security minister, this week promised Labour would take a lead in global efforts to combat climate change if they win Thursday’s elections.
Port authorities are hoping to benefit from the growth of offshore wind by upgrading their infrastructure so that turbines can be assembled and maintained on-site.
Some ports have waited nearly four years to sign off orders, which is more than four-times longer than anticipated. Other schemes have not been implemented because they fear the delays would make them unviable.
The BPA estimates that it will take nine years for all orders to be fulfilled. However, the BPA also says that there are more applications expected in the future to meet the growing demand of offshore wind projects.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO), an independent public body, gives harbour orders to ports for the construction of new infrastructure.
The harbour order is also required by ports to grant them new legal rights, such as the ability to borrow money or form joint ventures. This is essential to plan facilities, like upgrades for turbines or cruise terminals.
Mark Simmonds (director of BPA policy and external affairs) said that port development is needed to meet the increasing demand for offshore winds, cargo, and cruises.
He said: “It’s extremely regrettable that one single failure in the processing of relatively simple consents by a regulator could threaten billions of pounds worth of port investments and put our net-zero ambitions at risk.”
The BPA told Labour its pledge of £1.8bn to upgrade UK ports in the manifesto could be delayed if immediate action was not taken to accelerate consents.
Only four harbour orders were approved in the last two years, as compared to nine in 2021.
Falmouth Harbour has waited almost two years for a new order. It said that the delays prevented it from advancing plans in the Celtic Sea to tap into offshore floating wind projects.
Miles Carden said that the harbour’s chief executive was “a major distraction” because of the significant delays.
Ports of Southampton and Plymouth have been waiting for approval of MMOs for three years. The lack of resources in the legal department is believed to be the reason for the delays.
Associated British Ports (ABP), the largest port operator in the country, has said that the delays are unacceptable and have slowed down a number important projects for operational improvements.
Tim Morris, ABP’s CEO, said: “Without additional capacity at the MMO and alternative routes for processing applications, ABP and other ports operators risk losing the opportunity to grow their capability to handle trade Britain needs. They also risk losing the chance to play a larger role in the transition to energy.
In 2023 offshore wind energy provided approximately 17% of UK energy, and the government targets 50GW by 2030.
She said that you can’t tell a potential customer “yes, we’re really interested, but we won’t be able to start until another four years, because we’re waiting for consent”.
According to a spokesperson from the MMO, the average application process takes three years.
The spokesperson explained that the current volume of applications, and the perceived delays created by them, were due to the high volume of requests submitted in anticipation of the two price increases for harbour order fees scheduled for 2022 and 2023.
The MMO does not recover the full cost of work performed for this function.
The Department of Transport stated that it is working with the port and the body to improve the process.
Post Disclaimer