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REA welcome £265m of annual funding to be provided in
the fourth round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD)
scheme;
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Today’s announcement contains £200 million to support
offshore wind projects, but just £55 million has been allocated
for emerging renewable technologies;
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REA urges the government to provide greater support for
technologies at an earlier stage of deployment, such as marine
and geothermal.
The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA)
have welcomed the announcement of the fourth round of the CfD
scheme, but have warned the government that more support must be
offered to technologies at an earlier stage of deployment to
bring their costs down and help meet the UK’s Net Zero ambitions.
The CfD scheme is the Government's primary method of encouraging
investment in low-carbon electricity, incentivising investment in
renewable energy by providing developers of projects with high
upfront costs and long lifetimes with protection from volatile
wholesale prices.
Today’s announcement includes £265 million per year that will be
provided to businesses in the fourth round of the scheme, which
aims to double the renewable electricity capacity secured in the
third round and generate more electricity than the previous three
rounds combined.
However, the fourth round contains £200 million to support
offshore wind projects, but just £55 million has been allocated
for emerging renewable technologies, £24 million of which is
ring-fenced for floating offshore projects.
The REA says that emerging technologies such as geothermal,
marine and Advanced Conversion Technologies all need better
government support.
Frank Gordon, Director of Policy at the Association for
Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), said:
“The REA welcomes the extra funding for renewable power at
this year’s CfD auction, but are concerned that developing
technologies at an earlier stage of deployment than offshore wind
are still not being adequately supported by the CfD.
“For example, a minima’ (reserved capacity) should be
provided for geothermal, marine and Advanced Conversion
Technologies, so that they do not miss out entirely in the
auctions. This would bring the costs of these technologies down
by deploying at scale and help provide the energy mix we need to
meet our Net Zero ambitions.”
