IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v157y2021ics0301421521003499.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trouble on the horizon: Securing the decommissioning of offshore renewable energy installations in UK waters

Author

Listed:
  • Mackie, Colin
  • Velenturf, Anne P.M.

Abstract

This article elucidates the principal causes of risk to taxpayers created by the manner in which ‘security requirements’ are currently deployed by regulators in relation to the decommissioning of offshore renewable energy installations (OREIs) in English, Welsh and Scottish waters. It does so to inform policy development pertaining to their more efficacious utilization. In this context, security requirements are a regulatory tool which necessitate that developers/owners evidence their ability to finance decommissioning. Their deployment within the framework that governs the decommissioning of OREIs across the UK has not previously been ‘stress tested’ in the literature. Four causes are identified: excessive regulatory discretion; a flawed focus on financial strength; the dangers of gradual accrual; and uncertainty in decommissioning costing. A series of high-level policy recommendations are presented, several of which may be germane to other sectors and jurisdictions, as to how security requirements may be used more efficaciously to ensure decommissioning is performed.

Suggested Citation

  • Mackie, Colin & Velenturf, Anne P.M., 2021. "Trouble on the horizon: Securing the decommissioning of offshore renewable energy installations in UK waters," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:157:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521003499
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112479
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421521003499
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112479?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kaiser, Mark J. & Snyder, Brian, 2012. "Offshore wind decommissioning regulations and workflows in the Outer Continental Shelf United States," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 113-121, January.
    2. Boyd, James, 2001. "Financial Responsibility for Environmental Obligations: Are Bonding and Assurance Rules Fulfilling Their Promise?," Discussion Papers 10809, Resources for the Future.
    3. Gerard, David, 2000. "The law and economics of reclamation bonds," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 189-197, December.
    4. Lordan-Perret, Rebecca & Sloan, Robert D. & Rosner, Robert, 2021. "Decommissioning the U.S. nuclear fleet: Financial assurance, corporate structures, and bankruptcy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    5. Topham, Eva & McMillan, David, 2017. "Sustainable decommissioning of an offshore wind farm," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(PB), pages 470-480.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vetters, Jade & Thomassen, Gwenny & Van Passel, Steven, 2024. "Sailing through end-of-life challenges: A comprehensive review for offshore wind," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    2. Kristia Kristia & Mohammad Fazle Rabbi, 2023. "Exploring the Synergy of Renewable Energy in the Circular Economy Framework: A Bibliometric Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-27, September.
    3. Anne P. M. Velenturf, 2021. "A Framework and Baseline for the Integration of a Sustainable Circular Economy in Offshore Wind," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-41, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Spielmann, Vanessa & Brey, Thomas & Dannheim, Jennifer & Vajhøj, Jesper & Ebojie, Mandy & Klein, Johanna & Eckardt, Silke, 2021. "Integration of sustainability, stakeholder and process approaches for sustainable offshore wind farm decommissioning," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    2. Jacob Julien, 2021. "The (Mixed) Effects of Minimum Asset Requirements When There is a Possibility of Technological Change," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 167-191, March.
    3. White, Ben & Doole, Graeme J. & Pannell, David J. & Florec, Veronique, 2012. "Optimal environmental policy design for mine rehabilitation and pollution with a risk of non-compliance owing to firm insolvency," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 56(2), pages 1-22.
    4. Sara Aghakazemjourabbaf & Margaret Insley, 2018. "Optimal timing of harzardous waste clean-up under an environmental bond an a strict liability rule," Working Papers 1803, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics, revised 06 Jan 2018.
    5. Zhou, Jane, 2014. "Beyond Liability: An Analysis of Financial Responsibility and Care Decisions in Hazardous Waste Management Facilities," Working Papers 182293, University of Maryland, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    6. Deirdre O’Donnell & Jimmy Murphy & Vikram Pakrashi, 2020. "Damage Monitoring of a Catenary Moored Spar Platform for Renewable Energy Devices," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-22, July.
    7. Francisco Haces-Fernandez, 2020. "GoWInD: Wind Energy Spatiotemporal Assessment and Characterization of End-of-Life Activities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-20, November.
    8. Vincenzo Basile & Francesca Loia & Nunzia Capobianco & Roberto Vona, 2023. "An ecosystems perspective on the reconversion of offshore platforms: Towards a multi‐level governance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1615-1631, July.
    9. Winkler, Lorenz & Kilic, Onur A. & Veldman, Jasper, 2022. "Collaboration in the offshore wind farm decommissioning supply chain," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    10. R, Hall & E, Topham & E, João, 2022. "Environmental Impact Assessment for the decommissioning of offshore wind farms," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    11. Gérard Mondello, 2012. "Strict Liability, Capped Strict Liability, and Care Effort under Asymmetric Information," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 168(2), pages 232-251, June.
    12. Marcel Boyer & Donatella Porrini, 2010. "Optimal liability sharing and court errors: an exploratory analysis," Working Papers hal-00463913, HAL.
    13. Li, Chen & Mogollón, José M. & Tukker, Arnold & Dong, Jianning & von Terzi, Dominic & Zhang, Chunbo & Steubing, Bernhard, 2022. "Future material requirements for global sustainable offshore wind energy development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    14. Mondello, Gérard, 2012. "La responsabilité environnementale des prêteurs : difficultés juridiques et ensemble des possibles," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 88(2), pages 257-278, Juin.
    15. Gérard Mondello, 2010. "Risky Activities and Strict Liability Rules: Delegating Safety," Working Papers 2010.103, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    16. Gérard Mondello, 2017. "Lenders and Risky Activities: Strict Liability or Negligence Rule?," GREDEG Working Papers 2017-13, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    17. Ioannou, Anastasia & Angus, Andrew & Brennan, Feargal, 2018. "A lifecycle techno-economic model of offshore wind energy for different entry and exit instances," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 406-424.
    18. Colla, Martin & Ioannou, Anastasia & Falcone, Gioia, 2020. "Critical review of competitiveness indicators for energy projects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    19. Kim, Chulyoung & Koh, Paul S., 2019. "Minimum Asset and Liability Insurance Requirements on Judgment-Proof Individuals When Harm is Endogenous," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 60(2), pages 141-161, December.
    20. Abramic, A. & García Mendoza, A. & Haroun, R., 2021. "Introducing offshore wind energy in the sea space: Canary Islands case study developed under Maritime Spatial Planning principles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:157:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521003499. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.