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Government has awarded contracts for offshore wind farms which could Powering 12 million homesin a record-breaking auction, marks a stepping stone towards its goal of creating a clean electricity system by 2030.
This is the most competitive bidding round in the UK Renewable energy subsidy auction Until now, energy companies have bid for contracts that guarantee a price for each unit of clean energy they produce.
Funding is provided for 8.4 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind farm capacity, enough to provide clean electricity to 12 million homes by 2030.
Twelve new offshore wind projects have now been awarded (compared to nine last year), a result that marks the largest single purchase of offshore wind energy in Europe in terms of power purchased.
The contract price is £89.49 to £91.20 per megawatt hour (MWh) at 2024 prices. In contrast, levelized cost vitality Industry indicators on Wednesday showed it costs £147 per megawatt hour to build and operate a new gas-fired power plant.
this auction The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero Emissions (DESNZ) said this confused “the global challenges facing the industry”, adding that it was “a reflection on the U.K.A new era of energy sovereignty”.
British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “This is a historic victory for those who want the UK to be self-reliant and control our own energy rather than relying on markets controlled by oil nations and dictators.”
“This is a landmark step towards achieving clean energy by 2030, with the auction’s price being 40% below the alternative cost of building and operating a new natural gas plant.”
“Clean, local electricity is the right choice for this country to permanently lower electricity bills and this auction will create thousands of jobs across the UK.”
The result is a major victory for the energy secretary, with experts predicting he will need 8.4GW of new offshore wind capacity to come on stream during the auction period to stay on track to meet governmentAim to eliminate almost all fossil fuels in the UK electricity Available by 2030.
The projects include Berwick Bank in the North Sea, Scotland’s first new project since 2022 and the world’s largest planned offshore wind project.
The other two are at Dogger Bank South off the Yorkshire coast and Norfolk Vanguard off the East Anglia coast, two of the world’s largest offshore wind farms.
Awel Y Mor in the Irish Sea is the first Welsh project to win the contract in more than a decade.
DESNZ says new project will generate enough electricity to power 12 million people homeDelivering around £22bn of private investment, supporting 7,000 jobs and helping the UK tackle the climate crisis.
