The Government has announced a £22m increase in support for renewables through the Contracts for Difference (CfD), taking the total budget to £227m for this auction.
In the first quarter of 2023, renewables generated a record 48% of the UK’s electricity.
The increased funding combined with the introduction of annual auctions this year will boost investments in Britain’s renewable industry, while strengthening the UK’s energy security, fostering growth in the country’s green industries and reducing exposure to volatile global gas prices.
Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps (pictured) said: “Today’s funding through our flagship Contracts for Difference scheme – the lifeblood of our renewables industry for nearly a decade – will help grow our economy by making Britain the first choice for investors in renewable energy projects and secure skilled jobs for future generations.
“This will be the case for established technologies like solar, and new innovations like floating offshore wind and, alongside our backing for oil and gas, carbon capture and our revival in nuclear, will ensure we can help power more of Britain from Britain for decades to come.”
Today’s new funding for the current round (AR5) will mean an increased budget for established technologies such as solar and offshore wind from £170m to £190m.
It will increase the budget for emerging technologies such as floating offshore wind, up from £35m to £37m, while a £10m budget for tidal stream projects will be maintained.
The increase comes as Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden visits Able Seaton Port to announce the installation of the first of over two hundred 260-metre tall wind turbines is installed at Dogger Bank.
Dowden said: “Today we’ve published the latest National Risk Register, showing the many challenges we face to keep Britain safe in an uncertain world – like the risk of disruption to global energy supplies.
“Backing British renewables will tackle that risk and undermine Putin’s energy ransom. Which is why I’m with SSE in Hartlepool today as we install the first wind turbine at the new Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, generating cheap, clean energy to power millions of British homes.”
The Contracts for Difference scheme has already helped accelerate plans to diversify, decarbonise and domesticate the UK’s energy supplies, with the last round (AR4) securing around 11GW of low carbon capacity – enough to generate sufficient electricity to power 12 million British homes through nearly 100 clean technology projects.