The government of the UK announced the results for its fourth Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction round, which secured nearly 11 GW of renewable energy projects, including 7 GW of offshore wind, 1 GW of onshore wind and 2.2 GW of solar. The CfD also supported 41 MW of tidal stream energy and 32 MW of floating wind projects
A total of 93 projects won 15-year contracts, with planning permission across England, Scotland and Wales, and the budget for the entire round was set at £295m (€344m). This is the UK’s largest tender so far.
Among the successful offshore wind projects are Ørsted's 2.85 GW Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm, the 1.4 GW Norfolk Boreas project (Vattenfall), the 1.4 GW East Anglia 3 project (ScottishPower Renewables) and the 1.1 GW Inch Cape offshore project (Red Rock Power, an affiliate of China's SDIC and Ireland's ESB). The auction achieved offshore wind prices almost 70% below the levels in the first round in 2015. The clearing price was £45.99/MWh (€54.4/MWh) for solar, £42.47/MWh (€50.2/MWh) for onshore wind and £37.35 (€44.3/MWh) for offshore wind.
Beginning March 2023, CfD allocation rounds will be held annually in the UK, which has the ambition to see 95% of electricity being low carbon by 2030.
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