Tidal stream pulled in just 28MW of projects split across six contracts in the sixth allocation round of contracts for difference from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Five of the contracts are in Scotland, and one in Wales. The strike price was £172/MWh, down from the £198/MWh in the fifth allocation round a year ago.
The biggest project awarded is the 10MW Ynni’r Lleuad 2 scheme from HydroWing in Wales. The first stage of Ynni’r Lleuad also won a contract last year.
MeyGen also won a contract for a 9MW site in Scotland.
The Sustainable European Advanced Subsea Tidal Array (SEASTAR) won a contract for a 4MW project, the EMEC Fall of Warness tidal site in Orkney, Scotland.
Magallanes won a contract for a 3MW extension to its existing scheme at the European Marine Energy Centre (EME) in Orkney.
The number of projects awarded is down from the 53MW worth of sites tidal stream pulled in from AR5, which was seen by the sector as a breakthrough for the industry.
With the results of this year’s auction the UK is on track to have over 130MW of tidal stream capacity deployed in its waters by 2029, according to the UK Marine Energy Council.
“These results represent an important step forward for the tidal stream industry,” said UK Marine Energy Council policy director Richard Arnold said. “These projects will provide entirely predictable renewable energy and a critical service to the UK energy system.”
“Maintaining and increasing the size of the ringfence in future rounds will ensure the UK continues to lead in developing, deploying, and exporting tidal stream technology and expertise around the world.”