Regen welcomes the news today (9 Feb) that the UK government will be holding annual Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions.
Today’s announcement that the UK government will hold annual CfD rounds is a welcome move towards building a resilient energy system powered by renewables and to protecting consumers against rising bills.
Regen recently wrote to Kwasi Kwarteng calling for more regular CfD auction rounds to provide a much clearer long-term strategy for renewable energy deployment. Annual CfDs will send a positive signal to investors, allow developers to build their project portfolios, utilities to invest in grid infrastructure and supply chain companies to build the jobs, skills and capabilities needed to efficiently deliver net zero.
CfDs are also an excellent national hedge against rising power prices. The Low Carbon Contracts Company recently announced that in the last quarter of 2021 generators paid back over £133 million to the CfD scheme, helping to reduce levy costs for bill payers.
Regen will now be pressing the government for more ambition on the amount of renewables awarded in each round to match the 70 GW of onshore wind and solar needed by 2035 if we are to keep on track for net zero, and to ensure CfDs work better for innovative technologies such as floating offshore wind.
– Merlin Hyman, chief executive, Regen
- Regen calls for BEIS to double the capacity of renewables in 2021 Contracts for Difference auctions
- September’s energy crisis demonstrates the advantage of betting on low-cost renewable energy
- Let’s take advantage of low-cost renewables to create a hedge on energy price rises
- Contracts for Difference Round 4 – £10 million budget highlights great value of onshore wind and solar