Our power, our planet: Supporting the race to renewables across the UK and Republic of Ireland
This Earth Day, the theme “Our Power, Our Planet” calls on all governments, developers, communities, and businesses to recognise the power we hold to influence the planet’s future. At Westcor, we’re proud to be part of the renewable energy journey across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, working alongside developers, investors, landowners and funders to help deliver green energy projects through the power of title insurance.
While the global transition to renewables is accelerating, the pace and progress varies significantly across each country. Northern Ireland, for example, has made great strides with wind energy, now accounting for over 80% of its electricity generation, but still faces grid, planning, and market access challenges ahead of its aim to achieve at least 80% of all electricity consumption being from renewable sources by 2030. Scotland continues to lead the way with vast offshore wind ambitions, but issues such as workforce capacity, supply chain bottlenecks and investment certainty remain barriers to meeting 2030 targets.
What links all these areas is the need for practical solutions that help move projects from paper to reality, and that’s where title insurance becomes essential. This can provide solutions to help de-risk developments and provide the clarity needed to unlock funding, construction and operation of projects, whether because of a lack of rights required to operate and use the infrastructure or concerns around land ownership generally.
Individual renewable resources all face their own unique title concerns, but common examples include fragmented land ownership resulting in access gaps, third-party land constraints and a lack of oversail/overrun rights to accommodate transportation project infrastructure. In response, our underwriting teams across the UK and the Republic of Ireland provide tailored policies that protect investments and help speed up project delivery.
Earth Day is an opportunity to take stock of the progress to date and clearly identify a plan for the future. The recent drop in Northern Ireland’s renewable generation, from 51% in 2022 to 45.8% in mid-2024, reminds us that ambition must be backed by action and support systems.
As we look ahead, we believe title insurance can help to empower progress in the sector, it’s our way of using “our power” to protect “our planet.”
Let’s keep the momentum going.
If you’d like to know more about how Westcor can support your renewable projects, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Feel free to contact us for further information or assistance.
