EUR 929 Million for Offshore Wind in UK Budget 2016

UK Chancellor George Osborne today announced the Budget 2016, setting aside up to £730 million (approx. €929 million) for the support of offshore wind and other less established renewable technologies for projects generating electricity in 2021 to 2026.

The Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction will back up to 4GW of offshore wind and other less established renewables technologies, with the first auction of £290 million (approx. €369 million). Support for offshore wind will be capped initially at £105/MWh (in 2011-12 prices), falling to £85/MWh for projects commissioning by 2026. The government will continue to control costs on consumer bills, with further details to be announced in the autumn.

RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Maf Smith said: “We welcome the Chancellor’s announcement that funding will be available for future rounds of competitive auctions to support offshore wind farms. The budget is tight but we’re up for the challenge. We’re confident that today’s announcement will deliver 3.5 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity between 2021 and 2025 – powering more than 3.5 million British homes.

“This budget shows that offshore wind will be cheaper than new nuclear power and competing with gas by 2025, making it even better value for money. The industry is playing its part continuing to drive down costs relentlessly – we released a report this week showing in detail how we’re ahead of what was predicted.

“Today’s announcement will increase confidence, attracting billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s supply chain. It’s long term commitments such as this which will keep the UK as the number one destination in the world for investors in this technology.”