UK to Lay Out CfD Specs This Year

The UK government plans to set out the parameters of the next year’s Contracts for Difference auction later this year, Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said.

As previously reported, the UK will set aside GBP 557 million to support bi-annual CfD auctions for offshore wind and remote island wind, with the auctions starting in 2019 and running throughout the 2020s. The first CfD auction is planned to be held by May 2019.

This is expected to double the country’s offshore wind capacity which currently stands at little over 7GW.

One of the stipulations will apparently be an increased UK content in offshore wind projects, which currently stands at 48%.

”In giving companies long-term visibility, we should rightly expect long-term commitments from them, and I look forward to working with the sector in the coming months to explore their ambitious plans to invest in the UK supply chain,” Minister Perry said.

”In recent years total UK content in the offshore wind sector has increased to 48%. And I am committed to upping the scrutiny of developers and their supply chains and ensure this number keeps growing.”