Nine offshore wind farm tasks awarded in UK public sale | EUROtoday

A complete of 9 offshore wind farm contracts have been awarded by the federal government after final yr’s public sale failed to draw any bidders in any respect.

The contracts are a part of a wider slate of inexperienced vitality tasks that additionally embrace tidal and solar energy, and can present sufficient electrical energy to gasoline the equal of 11 million UK properties, the federal government mentioned.

However, whereas the brand new offshore wind tasks have been broadly welcomed, some consultants questioned whether or not they would generate sufficient capability to fulfill renewable vitality targets set for 2030.

Households are additionally dealing with greater vitality payments later this yr, with a typical invoice to rise by 10%.

On Tuesday, a complete of 131 contracts have been awarded to corporations for tasks which can generate 9.6 gigawatts (GWs) of renewable vitality.

The new offshore tasks embrace what shall be Europe’s largest and second-largest wind farms, Hornsea 3 and Hornsea 4, which shall be constructed off the Yorkshire coast.

The contracts are increase to the UK’s renewable vitality sector, after no corporations bid in the public sale to construct offshore wind farms final September.

Back then, the trade mentioned the assure value supplied by the then Conservative authorities for electrical energy generated by the wind farms didn’t have in mind greater prices equivalent to development supplies, which had risen due to inflation.

Keith Anderson, chief govt of Scottish Power, which was awarded two offshore wind farm contracts within the public sale, mentioned offshore wind was “back on track after last year’s misstep”.

“It will allow investment into manufacturing in the UK. It allows the sector to get back up and running and it puts the government back on track for hitting targets, really important targets to decarbonise the sector,” he advised the BBC’s Today programme.

The Labour authorities is aiming to supply 60GW of vitality via offshore wind farms by 2030.

The offshore wind farm tasks introduced on Tuesday present capability of 4.9GW.

Pranav Menon, a analysis affiliate at Aurora Energy Research, mentioned the federal government nonetheless has some technique to go to fulfill its aim.

“It still falls short of the pace required to meet its ambitious targets,” he mentioned.

Mr Menon subsequent yr’s public sale could be “the last chance” to acquire sufficient capability for supply earlier than 2030, with a further 31GW wanted to fulfill the goal 60GW goal for offshore wind.

Campaign group Greenpeace warned that “the government clearly needs to take a hard look at how this system is working”.

Ami McCarthy, Greenpeace UK’s political campaigner, mentioned: “5GW of offshore wind is of course welcome, but it is only about half of what is required each year to meet the government’s 2030 target.

“The final renewables contract public sale was a catastrophic failure, and actually the most important catastrophe for clear vitality in nearly a decade – due to this, the brand new authorities has an uphill battle.”

Labour’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the new government had “inherited a damaged vitality coverage”, but claimed “these outcomes present that collectively, this authorities and the vitality trade are securing funding into our nation”.

He hailed Tuesday’s auction as a “vital step ahead” in the government’s aim of achieving “vitality independence and decrease payments for good”.

Gas and electricity prices rose in 2021 as the global economy began to re-open from lockdowns implemented in the Covid pandemic. The increase accelerated the following year following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which is a major oil and gas producer.

While the long-term aim is to bring energy prices down and lessen the UK’s reliance on overseas providers, it will take some time for consumers to benefit.

Household bills are expected to rise after the energy regulator Ofgem lifted the cap on the price paid for each unit of gas and electricity used in 27 million homes in England, Wales and Scotland.

From October, a typical household’s annual energy bill will rise by £149. People using an average amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,717 a year.