A record number of clean energy projects have been awarded funding from the UK government’s flagship renewable energy scheme, according to the country’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
Since the first annual Contracts for Difference (CfD) round, 95 clean energy projects have been successful with their bids, with a total budget funding of $284.5 million (GBP 227 million), according to a statement UK government press release on Friday.
However, no offshore and floating wind projects were successful in the auction, prompting Labour’s energy security and net zero secretary Ed Miliband to say that the auction, in a post on X ( formerly Twitter), was an “energy security disaster”. Energy and Climate Change Minister Graham Stuart said the absence of successful offshore wind projects was “in line with similar outcomes in countries such as Germany and Spain, as a result of the global rise in inflation and the impact on supply chains that presented challenges for the projects.” participating in this round”.
“Offshore wind is central to our ambitions to decarbonise our electricity supply and our ambition to build 50GW. [gigawatts] of offshore wind capacity by 2030, including up to 5 GW of offshore wind, remains firm. The UK installed 300 new turbines last year and we will work with industry to ensure we retain our global leadership in this vital technology,” Stuart said.
“This year’s record CFD round builds on years of growth in renewables under this government. Only 7 percent of our electricity came from renewables in 2010, but in the first quarter of this year reach 48 per cent and this first annual auction will enable us to make further progress in feeding more of Britain from the UK,” added Stuart.
Half of the year’s total capacity was secured by new solar projects, while onshore wind projects delivered almost 1.5 GW of capacity and secured 24 projects. The round also featured a record 11 tidal stream projects, with a record capacity of more than 50 megawatts (MW), as well as three winning geothermal projects for the first time in the program’s history, with a total of 12 MW of capacity. Together, the projects will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of two million homes, according to the release.
Launched in 2014, the CfD scheme ensures projects receive a government-guaranteed price for the electricity they will generate, giving businesses certainty and confidence to invest in the UK, the statement said. Contracts are awarded through a series of competitive auctions, where the lowest-priced bids are successful, generating savings for consumers.
The UK government is already preparing for the sixth round of auctions in 2024 and “looks forward to the future participation of offshore wind and offshore floating,” the statement said.
In August, a report by the non-profit Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said government red tape could limit the number of wind projects approved in the UK and cost taxpayers 1 .9 million dollars (1.5 billion GBP).
The report noted that the previous auction round did not maximize its budget due to “inflexible rules”, missing out on 1.0 GW of wind power. The lost projects could also represent a significant setback for the UK’s target of 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030, the report added.
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