The result comes from the fourth round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which offers a fixed price to renewables that have started operating since 2017.
According to the Department of Enterprise, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), CfDs “encourage investment in renewable energy by providing project developers with high initial costs and a long service life with direct protection from volatile wholesale prices”.
They added: “They protect consumers from paying higher support costs when electricity prices are high.”
The last round of CfD auctions, which concluded this month, garnered about 11 gigawatts of net energy, which is almost double what was achieved in the previous round.
This energy will come from a number of clean technologies, such as offshore and onshore wind, solar and, for the first time, floating offshore wind and tidal current.
This, BEIS said, will help “boost British energy security and independence with cleaner, more affordable and diverse energy created in the UK”.
The largest capacity, reaching 7 gigawatts, has been secured in the form of new offshore wind projects around the British coast, enough to increase the UK’s total built and under construction capacity by 35 per cent.
This represents an important step towards achieving the government’s goal of 50 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and will help consolidate the UK’s role as a world leader in renewable energy and create new highly skilled jobs.
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Gas prices are affecting consumers across Europe.
“The more clean and cheap energy we generate within our own borders, the more protected we will be from the volatile gas prices that drive up bills.
“Thanks to today’s record renewable energy auction, we have achieved almost 11 gigawatts of clean, self-produced electricity, which would provide as much power as about six gas-fired power plants.
“These energy projects already have an urban planning license, now they have a financing contract in force. They went to [get] these projects were built as soon as possible to better protect millions of British families from rising costs. “
READ MORE: Energy lifeline: Soviet-era ray technology to take advantage of underground heat
According to BEIS, the competitive nature of the CfD scheme has continued to put downward pressure on prices.
In fact, the unit price of insured offshore wind energy in this round is almost 70 percent lower than what had been achieved at the first auction in 2015.
Energy Minister Greg Hands said: “This fourth round shows that the Government’s Contracts for Differences scheme remains a resounding success.
“Not only has it achieved a record capacity for clean electricity, but it ensures that the UK will have a future driven by a resilient and diverse supply of its own production energy, providing a wider range of renewable technologies than ever before.”
DON’T MISS IT: Steve Baker is committed to breaking the UK’s energy plans [INSIGHT]Ukraine’s fury when the EU gives a “gift” to Putin: “He is rubbing his hands with joy!” [ANALYSIS]Ukraine will use the deadly HIMARS to wipe out the Russians [REPORT]
RenewableUK Deputy Executive Director Melanie Onn said: “The results of today’s record auction show that there is a way to replace unaffordable gas with low-cost clean energy generated by a wide range of leading renewable technologies. for wind, both at sea and on land.
“Thanks to the rapid construction times of new onshore wind and solar sites, payers will begin to feel the benefits of today’s auction next year.
“The auction also showed that the UK maintains its position as a world leader in innovative renewable energy technologies such as tidal current and floating wind, which will play an increasingly important role in our transition to ‘clean energy to achieve our zero net goal.
“Working closely with the government, we need to make this country the most attractive place to invest.
“This is especially important if we want to develop our supply chain in new technologies such as floating wind, tidal current and green hydrogen, in which we can lead the global market and take advantage of the export opportunities this offers.” .