Reforms to UK offshore wind
Proposed reforms by the UK Government to pave the way for clean power by 2030.
These reforms would create an energy system with lower bills for households and businesses for the long-term, say the government.
The proposals being consulted on include:
- Relaxing the eligibility criteria on planning consent for fixed-bottom offshore wind, helping to speed up new offshore wind farms coming.
- Changing how offshore wind budgets are set and published, enabling funding to be invested more efficiently.
- Increasing the Contracts for Difference contract term beyond the current 15 years, making renewables contracts more cost effective.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero says that despite the three largest offshore wind farm projects, the nation must secure even more to deliver clean power by 2040.
Also, that the Contracts for Difference scheme is vital to deploying enough renewables to deliver the targets in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, against 'rollercoaster of global fossil fuel markets while creating good jobs and driving economic growth'.
The UK already has 30.7GW of offshore wind either installed or committed, with a further 7.2GW of capacity consented, against a target capacity range of 43-50GW needed for clean power by 2030.
The government has also recently launched the Clean Industry Bonus, incentivising offshore wind developers to invest in cleaner supply chains and create jobs in industrial communities.
The consultation on reforms to the Contracts for Difference scheme is open for four weeks until 21 March, with a government response expected ahead of the AR7 round.
