The UK Government said yesterday that a record amount of renewable energy had been secured through the biggest-ever round of its flagship auction scheme.
The fourth round of Contracts for Difference (CfD) has been the most successful - totalling almost 11GW across a range of clean technologies, including offshore wind, solar, onshore wind, floating offshore wind and tidal stream.
More than 90 projects with existing planning permission in England, Scotland and Wales have won contracts through the competitive auction process, which is more than in all three previous rounds combined.
The greatest capacity – almost 7GW - has been secured from new offshore wind projects - a significant step towards meeting the Government’s 50GW of offshore wind ambition by 2030.
CfDs give certainty to project developers to invest in new renewable energy infrastructure by protecting them from volatile wholesale prices.
A benefit is that when wholesale electricity prices are high, as they have been in recent months, generators pay money back into the scheme to reduce the net cost to consumers.
The Government says the competitive nature of CfDs has continued to place downward pressure on prices - the per-unit price of offshore wind secured in this round is almost 70% less than that secured in the first allocation round, in 2015.
Onshore wind and solar energy were both included in a CfD auction for the first time.
Solar energy
Onshore wind secured almost 0.9GW of new capacity, at a per-unit price that was more than 45% lower than in the first CfD round in 2015, while solar secured more than 2.2GW.
The fourth round also saw tidal stream and floating offshore wind projects successful for the first time. Tidal stream returned a capacity of 41MW and floating offshore wind returned 32MW.
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Eye-watering gas prices are hitting consumers across Europe. The more cheap, clean power we generate within our own borders, the better protected we will be from volatile gas prices that are pushing up bills.
“Thanks to today’s record renewable-energy auction, we have secured almost 11GW of clean, home-grown electricity – which would provide as much power as around six gas-fired power stations.”
Energy Minister Greg Hands said the fourth round showed the Government’s CfD scheme continued to be a roaring success.
He added: “Not only has it secured a record capacity of clean electricity, it ensures the UK will have a future powered by a resilient and diverse supply of home-grown energy by bringing forward a greater range of renewable technologies than ever before.”
“The Government’s energy-security strategy set out how Britain will accelerate the deployment of renewable technologies, with an ambition to see 95% of electricity being low carbon by 2030.
RenewableUK deputy chief executive Melanie Onn said: “Today’s record-breaking auction results show that there is a way to replace unaffordable gas with low-cost clean power generated by a wide range of renewable technologies led by wind - both offshore and onshore.
Benefits for billpayers
“Thanks to the rapid construction times of new onshore wind and solar sites, billpayers will start to feel the benefits of today’s auction next year.
“The auction also showed that the UK is maintaining its position as a world-leader in innovative renewable energy technologies like tidal stream and floating wind, which will both play an increasingly significant role in our transition to clean power to meet our net-zero goal.
“Working closely with Government, we need to make this country the most attractive place to invest in. This is particularly important if we want to develop our supply chain in new technologies like floating wind, tidal stream and green hydrogen, in which we can lead the global market and seize the export opportunities this offers.”