The British government announced on Tuesday 3 September that it had approved a « record name » of 131 renewable energy projects in the country. “This is the most important thing” group of projects adopted during a call for tenders in the field of renewable energies, between onshore or offshore wind, solar or tidal energy, he specified in a press release. Ultimately, these projects should supply the equivalent of 11 million homes.
With just under 10 gigawatts (GW) announced, it is not, however, the largest in terms of capacity. In 2022, the executive had announced nearly 11 GW. The previous call for tenders, in 2023, had failed to attract any offshore wind projects, a sector that is nevertheless crucial for the country’s energy transition, as companies were discouraged by a regulated price that was too low in these contracts allocated by the government.
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This contract price had been raised in November by the previous Conservative government, and the new Labour executive has “increased the budget by 50%” for the new call for tenders, the Ministry of Energy said in its press release. “Offshore wind is back in UK waters (…) with nine contracts awarded » including in particular the “Europe’s largest wind farm projects, Hornsea 3 and Hornsea 4, off the Yorkshire coast”he added.
« Leader mondial »
The approximately 5 GW of offshore wind turbines announced on Tuesday “are of course welcome, but this is only about half of what is needed each year to achieve” the government’s objectives for offshore wind power, pointed out Ami McCarthy of the NGO Greenpeace.
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The new Labour government launched its major green energy plan in July, with the ambition of making the United Kingdom a « leader mondial » thanks in particular to a new public company, Great British Energy. With 8.3 billion pounds (9.9 billion euros) of public money over five years, it will be responsible for investing in floating wind turbines, tidal and nuclear energy.
Upon coming to power in early July, Keir Starmer’s Labour government lifted what it considered to be a “de facto ban” on the construction of new onshore wind farms in England, where opposition from a few local residents could block the projects.
