Brits have been warned they face decades of higher electricity prices after Ed Miliband signed up to a swathe of new offshore wind contracts today.
The government has locked into 20 years of fixed prices for offshore wind power as part of the latest ‘auction’ of projects.
Critics pointed out that the so-called ‘strike price’ guaranteed to producers is 11 per cent higher than that offered last year and well above the current wholesale cost of electric.
However, ministers insist it is still cheaper than new gas generation, with Net Zero Secretary Mr Miliband claiming the deals are an ‘historic win’.
Six new projects located off the coast have been agreed in the latest round of contracts – part of Labour’s push for a clean power grid by 2030.
While last year hit a record number of projects at nine, this year marks a record in the capacity of power bought at 8.4GW.
They include Berwick Bank in the North Sea – the first new Scottish project since 2022, and the largest planned offshore wind project in the world.
Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband has claimed the offshore wind contracts are an ‘historic win’
Six new projects located off the coast have been agreed in the latest round of contracts – part of Labour’s push for a clean power grid by 2030 (file picture of offshore wind facility)
Two others are at Dogger Bank South, off the coast of Yorkshire, and Norfolk Vanguard, off the East Anglian coast – two of the largest offshore wind farms in the world.
Awel Y Mor in the Irish Sea is the first Welsh project to win a contract in more than a decade.
The auction round is also supporting UK efforts to develop floating offshore wind technologies, which see turbines mounted on floating platforms rather than fixed foundations.
The new contracts include two such projects: Erebus, off the Pembrokeshire coast in the Celtic Sea, and Pentland, off the coast of Dounreay in Scotland, which are backed by investment from Great British Energy and the National Wealth Fund.
The strike price for offshore wind averaged £90.91 per MW hour, while for floating offshore wind the figure was £216.46 per MW hour.
The wholesale price of electricity averaged £83 last year, although that does not factor in the cost of building new capacity.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the new projects would generate enough electricity to power 12 million homes, deliver around £22billion in private investment and support 7,000 jobs.
‘With these results, Britain is taking back control of our energy sovereignty’, Mr Miliband said.
‘This is a historic win for those who want Britain to stand on our own two feet, controlling our own energy rather than depending on markets controlled by petrostates and dictators.
‘It is a monumental step towards clean power by 2030 and the price secured in this auction is 40 per cent lower than the alternative cost of building and operating a new gas plant.
‘Clean, homegrown, power is the right choice for this country to bring down bills for good and this auction will create thousands of jobs throughout Britain.’
But shadow Net Zero secretary Claire Coutinho said the government had ‘locked in’ to higher prices.
‘Labour promised to cut people’s energy bills by £300, but Ed Miliband has just locked every family in Britain into higher energy bills for decades,’ she said.
‘These are the highest prices for offshore wind in a decade and higher than the current cost of electricity. If you think your bills are too high, this won’t make them any lower.
‘Bills are now almost £200 higher than when Labour came to power and Ed Miliband is cementing our uncompetitive electricity prices for even longer at a time when the world is becoming more unstable and we need cheap, reliable energy to compete.’
