Mr. Mark Foley:

I will answer the questions on policy and will then hand over to my colleague, Mr. McCormick, who will deal with the technical issues on capacity and the ability of the grid to handle both volume and renewable energy.

The Chairman asked about the obstacles to offshore energy. I mentioned the consenting regime. The second dimension is a connections policy. At the moment we do not have a connections policy allowing a developer to approach us in a regulated context and get a contract with us. Third, we do not have in place an option framework or regime specific to offshore energy generation, which recognises the specific technology used offshore. Those are the three impediments to developers putting significant capital into offshore wind generation at the moment.

Mr. McCormick will address the capacity questions the Chairman raised.