Europe’s battered wind sector starts to find hope in year of crisis
The crisis engulfing Europe’s wind industry is proving to be a wake-up call: things have to change radically to make progress on what’s a key part of the climate transition.
Contracts for Difference (CfD)
UK Government ups price for offshore wind in next CfD auction
The UK government has increased the prices available for offshore wind in next year's Contracts for Difference auction round following disappointment.
UK prepares to hike wind farm prices as developers struggle
The UK government is preparing to offer significantly higher subsidies for new offshore wind farms to get the country’s clean-power strategy back on track after developers shunned a previous auction.
Vattenfall says keeping giant UK wind project remains an option
Sweden’s Vattenfall may still hold on to a UK wind project that it shelved over the summer, as talks continue with the government to improve conditions for developers.
The CfD process: ‘Out of adversity comes opportunity’
And so it came to pass …. I was writing here last month when the announcement on the latest Contract for Difference round was imminent and it appeared a distinct possibility that offshore developers would give it the cold shoulder. As indeed they did.
UK offshore wind industry pain to last years, hedge fund says
The once-booming UK offshore wind industry faces years of pain, including project delays and possible cancellations, due to soaring costs and higher interest rates.
CfD results cast shadow over future of ScotWind projects
A washout of offshore wind in the latest Contract for Difference round is a wake-up call to government – but can issues be fixed to ensure Scotwind projects don’t founder?
‘The outcome the sector needed?’: CfD wind auction flop could spark action, says Wood Mac
Why did the auction flop? And what needs to change?
What are CfDs – and why haven’t offshore wind developers won any?
Was the government’s recent auction a “record-breaking” success for renewables or a total wipeout?
No offshore wind CfDs awarded in blow to government ambitions
“By capping the price the sector could bid at too low, government set it at a level that made it impossible for investors to meet their costs."
‘Crisis of confidence’: Industry reacts to offshore wind CfD auction flop
A lack of offshore wind bids for the AR5 CfD auction would be the "biggest failure" in UK green energy since 2015, industry figures have said.
Latest AR5 CfD auction fails to secure bids for offshore wind farms – report
There have been no bids for new offshore wind farms in the government’s CfD auction this week, according to a news report.
UK green agenda faces another hurdle as offshore wind auction stumbles
The UK’s annual renewable energy auction may not include offshore wind for the first time since the system for awarding subsidies began.
Energy sector calls for CfD reform amid strike price ‘race to the bottom’
Energy sector representatives have written to the government warning that a focus on price alone in procuring new renewables capacity risks a “race to the bottom”.
Gas shortfall drives surge in profits for Hywind Scotland wind farm
Profits from Equinor’s (OSLO: EQNR) Hywind Scotland scheme surged last year as legacy renewables projects unintentionally gained from Europe’s gas crisis.
Government reforms its flagship renewables scheme as it looks to boost investment
The UK government has set out a reform to its contracts for difference scheme as it hopes will drive investment in the country’s renwables sector.
UK confirms £205m budget for fifth CfD round
The UK government has confirmed the overall budget for the next contracts for difference (CfD) auction, with support worth £205m up for grabs.
Same contracts, big difference as 2023 CfD round approaches
Despite patchy political and policy support for renewables over the last decade, the UK’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) system has been a resounding success.
EU clears €2bn French CfD package for floating wind farm
The European Commission has approved French plans to offer more than €2 billion in support for a new floating wind farm off Brittany.
‘We have lost a year’: Plans for £18bn UK-Morocco energy link stall
Political chaos has derailed plans to power the UK grid with a huge buildout of solar and wind power in Morocco, as its developers struggle to secure backing from government.
‘Harder, longer and more complex’: Consenting delays threaten UK’s renewable energy targets
Legal experts have warned that the UK’s push for net zero and greater energy security may be undermined as thousands of renewables projects are stuck in a protracted planning and consenting process.
Windfall tax on generators a ‘penalty’ on renewables pioneers, says expert
An offshore wind expert has labelled the UK Government’s new electricity generators windfall tax a “penalty” on early entrants into the renewables market.
UK to meet with energy firms in push to cap low-carbon power costs
The UK government is set to meet with some of the country’s biggest power producers to push through a measure that would cap wholesale electricity prices starting this winter.
UK energy users could save £26bn on renewables profit cap
British energy consumers could save £26 billion ($30 billion) over the next two years, nearly £950 per household, through a government plan to cap profits of existing wind and solar farms in exchange for long-term price certainty.
Does price-obsessed CfD scheme come at cost to safety?
In 2014, when involved in developing Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group’s roughly 100MW Aberdeen Bay Windfarm plan, I and other members of the team were offered a briefing on a new way of bidding projects designed to drive down prices.