The UK’s recent Contracts for Difference (CfD) round has not awarded any new contracts for offshore wind projects,
Although the government notes that the exclusion of offshore and floating offshore wind projects in this year’s allocation aligns with similar outcomes seen in countries like Germany and Spain, attributable to the global surge in inflation and its repercussions on supply chains, which posed challenges for projects involved in this round, the development could be seen as a setback for the industry.
Energy and Climate Change Minister Graham Stuart said: “We are delighted that our first annual CfD auction has seen a record number of successful projects across solar, onshore wind, tidal power and, for the first time, geothermal.
“Offshore wind is central to our ambitions to decarbonise our electricity supply and our ambition to build 50GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, including up to 5GW of floating wind, remains firm.
“The UK installed 300 new turbines last year and we will work with industry to make sure we retain our global leadership in this vital technology.
“This year’s record-breaking CfD round builds on years of renewables growth under this government. Just 7% of our electricity came from renewables in 2010, yet in the first quarter of this year it reached 48% and this first annual auction will allow us to go further in powering more of Britain from Britain.”
New solar projects have locked in half of this year’s total capacity, and onshore wind projects have contributed nearly 1.5GW of capacity, more than doubling the number of projects secured compared to last year’s round.
Additionally, this latest round included a dedicated £10 million budget for tidal stream projects, resulting in a record 11 projects with a collective capacity exceeding 50MW.
Three geothermal projects have also secured contracts for the first time in the scheme’s history, totalling 12MW of capacity, capable of providing electricity for approximately two million homes.
