The UK Government has unveiled plans to add between 1GW to 2GW of renewable wind power annually throughout the 2020s, after Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry outlined the next wave of Contract for Difference (CfD) auctions. Offshore wind and, for the first time, remote island wind providers are eligible to bid for contracts at the next CfD auctions, which will take place in May 2019 and then every following two years. The UK Government has set aside £557m for these auctions and, depending on prices, could deliver up to 2GW of additional wind capacity each year in the 2020s. Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said: “The UK renewables sector is thriving, with more offshore wind capacity here than anywhere else in the world and 50% of electricity coming from low-carbon sources last year in what was our greenest year ever. “For the last decade, the offshore wind industry has been a great British success story: increasing productivity, raising earnings and improving lives in communities across the UK; and today the sector gets the certainty it needs to build on this success through the next 10 years.”
Edie 23rd July 2018 read more »
UK confirms plans for doubling offshore wind capacity in next decade. The UK government has confirmed plans to hold biennial auctions for offshore wind subsidies as part of a push to double capacity in the sector over the next decade giving companies greater certainty around investment decisions. The next subsidy auction will take place in May 2019 and follows dramatic drops of as much as 50 per cent for the costs of developing wind farms. Up to #557m of funding would be made available in the next auction. The falling cost of offshore wind generation is likely to raise questions over the UK government’s policy of supporting nuclear development, including Hinkley. Kate Blagojevic, Head of Energy at |Greenpeace UK said that while they welcomed the auction plans the cost of developing offshore and onshore wind and solar was now far cheaper than nuclear.
FT 23rd July 2018 read more »
The government will today unveil plans that could see between 1GW and 2GW of new offshore wind capacity delivered every year throughout the 2020s, as it seeks to build on the industry’s recent success at slashing clean energy costs. Business Secretary Greg Clark and Energy and Clean Growth Minister are to visit the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult in Blyth today, where they will announce new R&D funding for the sector and confirm the timetable for the next few waves of clean energy price support contract auctions. In a speech later this morning, Perry will confirm the next contract for difference (CfD) auction will take place by May next year, with future auctions running around every two years as the government seeks to distribute the £557m of support currently assigned for large scale clean energy projects.
Business Green 23rd July 2018 read more »
Plummeting renewable costs raise questions about government’s continued support for nuclear energy.
The Week 24th July 2018 read more »
Britain could double its offshore wind farm capacity by 2030 under plans outlined by the government. Claire Perry, the energy minister, yesterday committed the government to holding competitions to award subsidy contracts to new offshore wind projects every two years from 2019. She reiterated a previous commitment that the subsidy payments, funded through charges on consumer energy bills, would total up to £557 million a year to the wind farm owners. This could result in “one to two gigawatts of new offshore wind every year in the 2020s, powering millions more homes a year”, she said. The government has backed offshore wind to help to meet climate change targets by cutting carbon emissions. Offshore turbines capable of generating up to 7GW of electricity have been built in British waters. Last year, offshore wind generated 6.2 per cent of UK electricity needs. Projects capable of generating a further 7GW of power are either under construction or have won contracts to start generating by 2022-23.
Times 24th July 2018 read more »
Gina Hanrahan: With Scottish and UK businesses navigating uncertain waters, the plans announced by UK Climate Minister Claire Perry to double the capacity of the offshore wind sector over the next decade through regular competitive power auctions gives a clear pathway for this sector. This is good news for the renewables industry, for consumers and for our rapidly warming climate. It comes on the back of a big milestone for Beatrice windfarm in the Moray Firth, which just last week produced its first power, on track to powering nearly half a million homes from 2019.
Scotsman 23rd July 2018 read more »
