The UK government has awarded a record 14.7 GW of renewable energy capacity in the Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 7 (AR7), its largest CfD round ever in capacity, with tidal stream securing 20.9 MW across four projects.
On January 14, the UK government announced the award of 8.4 GW of offshore wind capacity in the CfD AR7, Europe’s biggest-ever offshore wind auction, including two floating wind projects, with RWE as the biggest winner securing contracts for almost 7 GW.
Building on last month’s offshore wind success, a record number of solar, onshore wind and tidal projects were announced today , February 10, whereby 157 solar energy projects secured 4.9 GW, 28 onshore wind projects secured 1.3 GW, and four tidal energy projects secured 20.9 MW .
Combined with the offshore wind results, the UK has now delivered 201 projects, generating 14.7 GW of new clean power, enough to supply the equivalent of 16 million homes.
“These results demonstrate the enormous contribution the CfD is making to Great Britain’s electricity system. Together these projects will provide new renewable electricity generation at scale, particularly when paired with the record offshore wind capacity contracted in AR7. LCCC is proud to be managing these contracts, providing certainty to investors and supporting British jobs,” said Neil McDermott , Chief Executive of the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC).
In Wales, Mor Energy Limited was awarded a contract for its 5.5 MW Mor Energy GO3 Phase2 tidal stream project, Tidal Technologies W1 Ltd for its 3 MW Morlais Tidal Tech GR1 W1.1, and Hydrowing Tidal Projects 2 Ltd for its 10 MW Ynni’r Lleuad 3.
In Scotland, Orbital Projects 10 Limited secured a contract for its 2.4 MW Orbital Marine Eday 5 tidal stream project.
“Today’s auction result is another strong step towards energy independence and will galvanise continued activity throughout the supply chain,” said Claire Mack , Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables.
“Scotland’s remarkable marine energy resource gives our tidal sector huge global potential and we are delighted that Orbital has received a contract for its 2.4MW Eday 5 project in Orkney. To build on the success of AR7 across all technologies, we urge the UK Government to remain closely engaged with industry to deliver the solutions that tackle highly volatile network charges to ensure future capacity is secured at best value to consumers.”