RWE has been awarded Contracts for Difference for five renewable energy projects totalling 218MW in the UK’s latest Auction Round 6 (AR6).
The contracts were awarded by the Low Carbon Contracts Company, on behalf of the government following successful bids for two onshore wind and three solar schemes.
The inflation-indexed award price for RWE’s onshore wind projects is £50.9 per megawatt hour and for the solar sites £50.07/MWh (in 2012 prices).
The 64.6MW Golticlay wind scheme is due online in 2026, the 44MW Finding wind farm is due online in 2027, the 50MW Laynes Wood PV array is due online in 2025, while the 50MW Fraddon solar project is also due online in 2025 and the 10MW Copse Lodge solar scheme will come online next year.
RWE intends to invest €8bn in new infrastructure projects on the British Isles between 2024 and 2030 as part of its Growing Green strategy.
One of RWE’s largest projects in the UK is the construction of the Sofia offshore wind farm off the British east coast on Dogger Bank with a capacity of 1.4GW.
In addition, the company is currently implementing three onshore wind schemes in Scotland and seven solar sites in England, three of which will be supplemented by battery storage.
RWE UK country chair Tom Glover said: “Today’s auction success underlines RWE’s position as one of the leading players in onshore wind and solar energy in the UK.
“In addition to our 32 onshore wind projects already in operation, we are advancing the construction of seven new solar and three onshore wind farms and will further expand our portfolio with the CfD contracts awarded today.
“We are pleased with the success of the onshore and solar projects in this year’s auction.
“However, at the same time, only 3.4GW, or only about 30% of the entire pipeline of new, eligible offshore wind projects, were awarded a contract in the auction.
“If the British government wants to achieve its goal of quadrupling offshore wind capacity to 60GW by 2030, the expansion must be pushed forward.”