The onshore wind farms which won contracts today to generate clean power in the Government’s latest auction for new projects will strengthen the UK’s energy security by generating enough electricity to meet the needs over 1.2 million homes. Onshore wind is one of the UK’s cheapest sources of new power, generating at half the cost of new build gas plants.
28 onshore wind projects with a total capacity of 1,306MW were awarded Contracts for Difference (CfDs) in Allocation Round 7 at a strike price of £72.24 per megawatt hour (MWh). Onshore wind is much more cost-effective for billpayers than new generation from gas at £147/MWh and new nuclear power at £124/MWh.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has calculated that building and operating these wind farms, alongside investment in the solar and tidal projects confirmed in this auction, will support up to 10,000 jobs and bring £5 billion in private investment to the UK.
These onshore wind projects will also generate over £6.5 million in community benefit funds for people living near them, funding local sports facilities and nature restoration projects for example. There are projects throughout Britain; in Scotland (1.09GW, 21 projects), England (28MW, 2 projects) and Wales (185MW, 5 projects).
These projects will also enable the UK to avoid burning more than 1.46 million tonnes of CO2 to generate electricity from gas, the bulk of which would have been imported at a cost which the UK cannot control.
The Government has set a target of 27-29GW of onshore wind to reach clean power by 2030, which is double our current operational capacity in England, Scotland and Wales. So far, a total of 18GW is either built or under construction or has a contract to go ahead. The 1.3GW we secured in this round will get the UK closer to the 2030 target, and the Government will need to procure between 3.85 to 4.85GW in the next two auctions to achieve its goal.
In addition to the new onshore wind capacity secured today, four innovative tidal stream projects in Wales and Scotland were awarded contracts to generate clean power, boosting the UK’s energy security further by diversifying our energy mix.
RenewableUK’s Head of Onshore Wind delivery James Robottom said:
'The new onshore wind projects announced today will bring much-needed jobs, private investment, community benefits and fresh opportunities for supply chain companies throughout England, Scotland and Wales. They are also vital to shield consumers from volatile global gas prices. Onshore wind farms generate clean energy at a predictable and stable cost and they’re one of the UK’s cheapest forms of new power, so they offer the best value for money for hard-pressed bill-payers trying to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
'An investment in renewables is also crucial to keep pace with the UK’s growing electricity demand. This is set to increase in the years ahead, with more data centres, heat pumps and electric vehicles, so we need to ramp up our capacity to generate power fast, especially over the next five years, using clean sources like onshore wind which can be built out more rapidly than most other technologies'.
See also: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announcement: Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7 results (accessible webpage) for full results
Source: RenewableUK
