Offshore windfarms fuel 12m homes in a major step towards the UK government’s goal to create a clean electricity system by 2030. The government has awarded subsidy contracts to enough offshore windfarms to power 12 million homes as The Guardian reports.
Contracts were awarded at an auction to eight new offshore farms after ministers doubled the amount of funding available to developers to help them produce projects worth £22bn and also guarantee a price for each unit of clean energy they generate. The government expects the investment to support 7,000 skilled jobs, and has promised that its clean energy agenda would help to lower energy bills for good.
The funding was awarded to offshore windfarms with a total capacity of 8.4 gigawatts (GW), or enough to generate clean electricity for more than 12m British homes by the end of the decade. These included standard windfarms fixed to the seafloor and a new generation of floating windfarms that could help the UK to build projects in far deeper areas of the North Sea.
Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, said: “We’ve secured a record-breaking 8.4GW of offshore wind … This is the largest amount of offshore wind procured in any auction ever in Britain or indeed Europe.” He called it “a significant step towards clean power by 2030”, adding: “The price secured in this auction is 40% lower than the alternative cost of building and operating a new gas plant. Clean, home-grown power is the right choice to bring down bills for good, and this auction will create thousands of jobs throughout Britain.”
The government said investing in locally generated renewable electricity would also help to reduce the UK’s exposure to volatile global fossil fuel markets, which have contributed to record high energy debts and cost inflation across the UK economy.
Although considered critical to meeting targets to quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030 analysts warn similar results will be needed in future rounds to stay on track.