The government has officially confirmed the budget for the next clean energy contract auction round later this month, upping the available funds from £60m to £65m. In a notice to the National Grid Electricity System Operator Limited, EMR Delivery Body released yesterday, Business Secretary Greg Clark approved the final details for the third contract for difference (CfD) auction round which is scheduled to take place from May 29th. The statement confirms the budget has been increased from the original draft proposal of £60m. The change is a result of a modest decrease in projected wholesale power, which means more price support funding will be required to deliver the 6GW of capacity the government wants to see enabled by the latest auction round. The notice also confirms that the CfDs on offer will as expected support projects that can deliver clean power from 2023/24 and 2024/25. A range of projects can bid for the contracts, including geothermal, biomass with combined heat and power, marine energy, large anaerobic digestion, and remote island wind farms. However, the auction is expected to mirror previous auctions and be dominated by new offshore wind farm developments.
Business Green 2nd May 2019 read more »
Moves to help ensure more work for offshore wind farms goes to Scottish companies have been agreed at a summit in Edinburgh. Finance Secretary Derek Mackay and Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse held the summit at St Andrew’s House, where industry representatives agreed collective action is needed to ensure the supply chain in Scotland benefits from upcoming projects. Developers and supply chain companies were asked to consider taking urgent action to achieve the 60% content targets the UK Government’s offshore wind sector deal wants to hit by 2030. The Scottish Government pledged to look at options for attaching supply chain conditions and incentives to Crown Estate seabed leases. It will also look at the way the Scottish Parliament reviews and approves decommissioning plans. Industry representatives will assess UK-wide fabrication capability to identify areas with highest growth potential. Speaking after the summit, Mr Mackay said: “… now it is time for the offshore sector to do more by awarding contracts to our supply chain.” In a joint statement, GMB Scotland secretary Gary Smith and Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said: “Actions speak louder than words but we leave this summit confident that the Scottish Government shares our determination to make sure we get our share of the renewables manufacturing bonanza and that they will take all necessary measures within their powers to do this.
Herald 3rd May 2019 read more »
New leasing rules for offshore wind farms could keep offshore contracts in Scotland, ministers said today. The Scottish and British governments convened a summit amid concerns that Scottish supply chain companies are losing out on work, jeopardising hundreds of skilled jobs. The furore followed the mothballing of the Burntisland Fabrications (BiFab) yards in Fife. The company was initially bailed out by the Scottish government after workers occupied the yards, but they struggled to maintain momentum as contracts continued to be awarded to companies overseas. Ministers said they had reached a consensus with industry reps and unions over the need for “collective action” to ensure supply chain companies were well positioned to benefit from upcoming contracts. They promised to explore keeping “options open for attaching supply chain conditions and incentives to Crown Estate Scotland leases.”
Morning Star 2nd May 2019 read more »
Moves to help ensure more work for offshore wind farms goes to Scottish companies have been agreed at a summit in Edinburgh.
Dundee Courier 2nd May 2019 read more »
Herald 2nd May 2019 read more »
