Scottish Renewables has joined forces with 67 organisations, representing approximately 20,000 jobs from across the renewable energy industry, in an appeal to the new UK Government to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy projects, in an 8 July announcement.
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the UK Government’s main mechanism for unlocking investment in low-carbon electricity generation. CfD contracts are awarded through annual auctions known as ‘Allocation Rounds’, with Allocation Round 6 (AR6) set to take place this summer.
Despite more than 12GW of renewable energy projects being able to enter the AR6 auction the current budget, set in March 2024, means that only a fraction of these projects will be able to secure investment.
Due to inflation and increased interest rates the AR5 auction failed to deliver any contracts for offshore wind in 2023. This year, the renewable energy industry is looking for AR6 to deliver the capacity that will help the UK Government deliver its clean energy targets such as 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.
In a letter to the new Prime Minister, Chancellor of Exchequer and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Scottish Renewables has called for an increase to the AR6 budget that the industry body says will provide certainty to vital Scottish projects and supply chains.
Claire Mack, Chief Executive at Scottish Renewables, said:
“The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme has been a trailblazer for boosting investment in renewable energy across the UK. With key deployment targets around the corner, we must maximise capacity in the upcoming CfD allocation rounds.
“Scotland’s renewable energy supply chain is poised to secure the opportunities from our impressive pipeline. However, we will only be able to enable the steady deployment of vital Scottish projects by ensuring CfD budgets match their potential.
“The new UK Government has an immediate opportunity to not only get us back on track to meet our bold targets, but to kickstart economic growth and high-value job creation by uplifting the Allocation Round 6 budget.
“Maximising Contracts for Difference will also pave the way for the cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy for the benefit of communities across the UK.”
