The UK government nearly doubled the original £900m budget set aside to support fixed-bottom offshore wind in AR7 to ensure a record 8.4GW could clear the round.
Energy department DESNZ confirmed the fresh cash allocation of £1.79bn had been provided to “secure additional capacity that represents good value for households”.
The move was enabled by new powers that allowed Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to boost the budget after reviewing the bid stack and considering marginal projects which exceeded the cap but were deemed by officials to offer value for money to billpayers.
Miliband said the price at which projects had cleared the round (up to £90.91 per megawatt-hour) was around 40% cheaper than procuring new gas-fired generation.
DESNZ predicted the auction results would also unlock around £22bn in private investment and support 7,000 jobs while also reducing the UK’s exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices.
“With these results, Britain is taking back control of our energy sovereignty,” added Miliband.
“This is a historic win for those who want Britain to stand on our own two feet, controlling our own energy rather than being controlled by petrostates and dictators.
“It is a monumental step towards clean power by 2030, and the price secured in this auction is 40% lower than the alternative cost of building and operating new gas plant.
“Clean, homegrown, power is the right choice for this country to bring down bills for good, and this auction will create thousands of jobs throughout Britain.”
Head of Mission Control Chris Stark added: “This is a stonking result for delivering on our mission for clean power by 2030. Amid global headwinds and pressures facing the offshore wind sector in recent years, we’ve secured a record amount of capacity at a competitive price for the consumer.
“We need more offshore wind to meet the increasing demand for electricity in the years ahead, this result powers us towards a future of clean, secure, energy abundance and less reliance on foreign imports.”