Renewables developers are lining up for the start of the UK’s second Contracts for Difference auction which gets underway Monday.
Offshore wind has been tipped to secure most of the spoils with biomass, CHP and tidal technologies expected to find it tough to make significant inroads, according to industry experts.
A number of offshore wind farms, including Innogy’s 900MW Triton Knoll, are eligible to bid.
Up to 2GW of offshore wind across four projects could be supported in the auction, according to some analysts, including law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. Some £290m is available in the CfD2 funding pot.
NRF energy partner Rob Marsh said he expects “punchy” bids in the auction with the application window due to open on 3 April and close on 21 April. CfDs will be allocated to the cheapest projects first, regardless of the delivery year.
Officials will notify applicants of the outcome of the application window on 15 May.
In the event there are no ineligible applications for the initial Pot 2 auction, CfD2 sealed bids will be due from 25 May until 1 June.
In the event of any ineligible applications, the process will be delayed automatically and one of four scenarios will play out.
Following the closing of the sealed bid window, the earliest date successful CfD bidders will be notified by National Grid is 22 June, the latest is 11 September.
Image: Siemens
