The British government has unveiled details of the next round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which will be opened in 2021 for renewable technologies, including onshore wind, solar and floating offshore wind projects operational from the mid-2020s. The CfD scheme will also be adapted to boost the development of energy storage. Projects will have to meet tough new guidance on community engagement, with local communities having a definitive say on whether projects are allowed to proceed.
Feed-in tariffs (FiTs), which were introduced in 2010 to support small-scale generating technologies (up to 5 MW), were dramatically cut by 65% in 2016 after a governmental review and financial incentives for onshore wind projects were removed. In March 2019, the support scheme officially closed to new installations (still available for existing installations).
This 2016 measure led to a strong reduction in onshore wind installations, raising concerns about the capacity of the United Kingdom to meet its commitment to cut emissions to nearly zero by 2050, a target that would require to triple the country's installed onshore wind capacity in the next 15 years.
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