LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will launch a £ 160m ($ 220m) fund to help developers of floating offshore wind technologies as part of efforts to develop renewable energy and meet climate targets, the government announced on Friday.

The announcement comes as Britain seeks to strengthen its green credentials ahead of hosting the UN’s COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow from Sunday.

“Floating offshore wind is essential to unlock the spectacular wind power resources we enjoy in the UK, especially in the deep waters around the coasts of Scotland and Wales,” said Minister for Kwasi Kwarteng Energy in a statement.

Britain aims to generate 40 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from offshore wind by 2030 – up from around 10 GW currently – which it says would be enough to power every household. Floating wind farms are expected to represent 1 GW.

Floating wind farms are an emerging technology that costs much higher than plants fixed to the seabed, but costs are expected to drop as more projects come online, opening up the possibility of developing more sites. off the coast.

Details of how cash will be allocated will be worked out after consultation with the industry, the government said, with the new funds being part of Britain’s £ 1.4 billion Global Investment Fund announced in the Wednesday budget.

The Crown Estate of Scotland this year launched a tender for seabed licenses around the coast for up to 10 GW, attracting bids from renewable energy companies and oil majors, with many sites requiring probably floating wind technology.

The Crown Estate for England, Wales and Northern Ireland has also launched a lease-only cycle for floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea for 0.3 GW of projects. ($ 1 = 0.7257 pounds)