UK awards 5.5 GW of offshore wind in 3rd CfD round

Twelve offshore wind, waste-to-energy and remote island wind projects in the UK won Contracts for Difference (CfD) in the third such auction in the country, the government announced today.

These projects will add around 5.8 GW of new capacity by 2025. As expected, offshore wind was the big winner with almost 5.5 GW of awarded capacity.

The biggest projects on the list include the 1.4-GW Sofia offshore wind park by innogy SE, and three 1.2-GW phases of the Dogger Bank Wind Farms project by SSE Renewables and Equinor. The table contains details on the strike price, in 2012 prices, and targeted completion.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said these power plants will be producing enough power for more than seven million households and at record low prices. For offshore wind, the price is now around 30% below that it the second CfD auction held in 2017.

RenewableUK calculates that the projects from the third CfD round will create 8,000 jobs.

“Offshore wind is a British success story, with new projects at record low prices creating new opportunities for jobs and economic growth as we leave the EU,” said Kwasi Kwarteng, Energy and Clean Growth Minister.

The CfD allocation round was open to less-established technologies such as offshore wind, geothermal power, remote island wind, and marine power, among others. The CfDs awarded represent 15-year private law contracts between renewable electricity generators and the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC), a government-owned entity.

In June, the British government announced a target for net zero emissions by 2050.

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