EuropeOffshoreRenewables

Industry warns of lower renewables investment under latest UK auction plans

RenewableUK has warned that the plans set out by the UK government for this year’s round of auctions for contracts to generate clean power (Contracts for Difference) will not maximise investment in wind, solar and tidal projects.

The industry trade association has called on the government to revise its £205m ($249m) CfD which includes £170m for established technologies, which for the first time includes offshore wind, £35m, including floating wind and £10m ring-fenced budget available for tidal stream technologies.

The CfD system was launched in 2015 to encourage companies to invest in new renewables. The scheme has so far awarded contracts to 52 projects in Scotland, which represents around 30% of all CfD projects and around 25% of total CfD capacity.  In Wales, the scheme has so far awarded contracts to 9 projects, totalling around 260MW of capacity.

The UK government on Thursday said that offshore wind projects that bid for contracts this summer will not be allowed to charge more than £44 per MWh, down from £46 last year.

“Unfortunately, in the light of global inflationary pressures, the budget and parameters set for this year’s CfD auction are currently too low and too tight to unlock all the potential investment in wind, solar and tidal stream projects which the industry could deliver,” said RenewableUK’s economics and Markets Manager Michael Chesser.

“At a time when the US and EU are bending over backwards to offer incentives for renewable energy developers to come to them to build new projects, the UK is sending the wrong investment signals. As a result, we risk losing vital opportunities to scale up our supply chains around the UK, denying communities the industrial-scale benefits which our sector offers. We’re also jeopardising our global lead in cutting-edge clean energy technologies like floating wind and tidal stream.

“We’re calling for the government to revise the CfD budget so that we can stay on track to deliver on our renewable energy targets, as well as creating tens of thousands of high-quality green tech jobs and attracting billions in private investment in the years ahead,” Chesser concluded.

Adis Ajdin

Adis is an experienced news reporter with a background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy.

Comments

  1. If only renewables received the subsidies as fossil fuels, i.e. $5+ trillion per annum.

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