Over £1.5 billion in funding announced to boost clean energy

The government has announced a budget of over £1.5 billion in an attempt to deliver homegrown clean energy projects and boost UK's energy security.

Ed Miliband announced the budget for this year’s renewable energy auction is being increased by £500 million to over £1.5 billion - a record budget - helping build new green infrastructure as part of the mission to deliver clean power by 2030.  

Funding is planned to accelerate the delivery of clean, cheap, low-carbon electricity to families and businesses, generated by renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels.  

Investing in clean energy is part of the government’s plans to make Britain a clean energy superpower. This is intended to boost the country’s energy independence.

This includes £1.1 billion for offshore wind which has more budget available than all of the previous auctions combined, sending a strong signal to industry to invest in UK waters.  

The uplift comes on the day of the first meeting of the Clean Energy Mission Board – chaired by the energy secretary and attended by ministers from across Whitehall – as part of plans for a mission-driven government. The board will meet to ensure a relentless focus on delivering the mission of clean power by 2030 and accelerating towards net zero.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: "Last year’s auction round was a catastrophe, with zero offshore wind secured, and delaying our move away from expensive fossil fuels to energy independence.   

"Instead, we are backing industry to build in Britain, with this year’s auction getting its biggest budget yet. This will restore the UK as a global leader for green technologies and deliver the infrastructure we need to boost our energy independence, protect billpayers, and become a clean energy superpower.

Industry will now bid for a share of the funding through the government’s sixth renewable auction – known as the Contracts for Difference scheme – which provides developers with initial subsidies for clean electricity projects across Britain with a built-in design to keep costs low for billpayers. 

Energy minister Michael Shanks said that increasing the budget by more than 50 per cent will boost industry confidence to back clean energy, attracting cutting edge clean technologies to Britain as the country accelerates to a decarbonised power sector by 2030.

The Contracts for Difference scheme works by developers bidding for contracts to help deliver renewable energy projects, with the scheme providing a guaranteed price for the clean electricity they generate. 

This gives industry greater certainty to invest, knowing that when electricity prices fluctuate, they will always get a set price for their projects.