Offshore Wind takes the crown in UK CfD Round Four

Offshore fixed-bottom wind projects secured seven out of 11 GW of allocated capacity offered in the fourth round of the UK’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. 

Held by the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the CfD is the UK government’s main mechanism for supporting low-carbon electricity generation. Each CfD round is set to provide incentives for investment in renewable energy. Project developers faced with high upfront costs and long lifetimes are provided protection from volatile wholesale prices and increasing support costs when electricity prices are high. 

‍Read more: ScotWind provides a boost to UK offshore wind

‍

Floating Wind included in CfD Round Four

In Round 4, a strike price of £37.35/MWh was awarded to fixed-bottom projects, down from £40.65/MWh awarded in the last round. 

For the first time, a Floating Wind project was also included in the allocation: a 32 MW TwinHub project awarded at the strike price of £87.30/MWh.

Five fixed-bottom projects shared the 7 GW capacity:

• Ørsted Hornsea Project 3: 2,875 MW (⬆️19% more than planned)
• Vattenfall Norfolk Boreas: 1,396 MW (⬇️22%)
• ScottishPower East Anglia 3: 1,372 MW (⬇️1%)
• ESB Inch Cape: 1080 MW (at par)
• OW Ocean Winds Moray West: 294 MW (⬇️66.5%)

According to the CfD contract, the wind farms are expected to come online by 2026/27. Spinergie provides an intuitive, in-depth solution to help you keep track of these upcoming wind farm projects along with hundreds of others around the globe. 

‍

To find out more about this topic, and how Spinergie’s solutions can help you optimize your operations and reduce your carbon footprint, schedule a demo with our team.