New clean energy projects to power 3.6 million homes and create thousands of new jobs

The government has announced that eleven new energy projects worth up to £176m per year have been successful in the latest competitive auction for renewable technologies.

Contracts for Difference are designed to drive investment in a new generation of clean, secure electricity supplies. This is the second round of Contracts for Difference auctions, with the first held in 2015.

The projects, which are set to generate over 3GW of electricity, will power 3.6 million homes.

The government says it is committed to investing in clean technology and driving economic growth, which has been set out in the Industrial Strategy and upcoming Clean Growth Plan.

The competitive approach is continuing to drive cost reductions in the renewable energy industry. As a result, the cost of new offshore wind projects starting to generate electricity from 2022-23 are now 50% lower than the first auction held in 2015.

The other technologies, Advanced Conversion Technologies and Dedicated Biomass with Combined Heat and Power, also achieved significant savings.

Competition has also driven down the costs for consumers. The capacity delivered in this auction cost up to £528m per year less than it would have in the absence of competition.

Projects are set to be delivered across Great Britain from Wales to the Scottish Highlands and the West Midlands from 2021.

Richard Harrington, Minister for energy and industry, said: “We’ve placed clean growth at the heart of the Industrial Strategy to unlock opportunities across the country, while cutting carbon emissions.

“The offshore wind sector alone will invest £17.5bn in the UK up to 2021 and thousands of new jobs in British businesses will be created by the projects announced today.

“This government will continue to seize these opportunities as the world moves towards a low carbon future, and will set out ambitious proposals in the upcoming Clean Growth Plan.”

This investment will help the UK meet its climate targets while supporting jobs in Britain’s renewable industry. The UK has the largest offshore wind capacity in the world and low carbon businesses have a combined turnover of £43bn, employing 234,000 people.