Following the government’s recent renewables auction, a new supply of clean, cheap, homegrown energy is in the pipeline. It is envisaged this will then power millions of homes and businesses across Britain.

131 new green infrastructure projects were announced involving onshore wind, solar, and tidal energy, as the government increased the budget for these projects by 50%.

The government states that its rollout of low-carbon electricity is a key step for UK energy independence and security, helping protect families and businesses from spiking global fossil fuel prices.  

Projects have been agreed at well below the upper limit on the price set for the auction – meaning the government has bought a record amount of clean power at a much lower cost to consumers than the maximum price – providing value for money and cheap power supplies.

The 131 projects include: 

  • the largest offshore wind farm project in Europe – the Hornsea 3 project off the Yorkshire coast
  • the largest floating offshore wind project in the world to reach the market, Green Volt, which is double the size of Europe’s total installed floating offshore wind capacity
  • 6 new tidal projects, building on the UK’s world-leading position, with just under half of the world’s operational tidal stream capacity being situated in UK waters
  • a combined 115 solar and onshore wind projects.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said:  “Securing new wind turbines, solar panels, and cutting-edge technologies such as tidal will boost growth, catalyse investment, and support good jobs across Great Britain. 

“This will help turbocharge our mission for energy independence and clean power by 2030.”

CEO of Low Carbon Contracts Company, Neil McDermott, said: “We are delighted with the outcome of Allocation Round 6 (AR6) which has awarded contracts to the largest number of projects ever.

“The results of AR6 increase our total renewable electricity CfD portfolio to 39GW and 372 contracts. CfDs support technologies including offshore and onshore wind, solar, as well as emerging technologies of floating wind, tidal and geothermal.

The success of this allocation round not only boosts our ability to decarbonise the economy and enhance energy security, but also unlocks exciting new opportunities for innovation and growth. We look forward to working closely with our new generators to deliver these projects, accelerating the delivery of net zero and a sustainable, low-carbon future.”