London: Britain has launched a new incentive scheme to accelerate offshore wind development, aiming to attract investments crucial to its ambitious goal of decarbonizing the energy system by 2030.
The program, known as the ‘Clean Industry Bonus’, will grant successful bidders £27 million ($33.5 million) per gigawatt (GW) of offshore wind capacity. The initiative is part of the country’s broader strategy to expand offshore wind capacity from the current 15 GW to 43-50 GW by the end of the decade.
The government has prioritized offshore wind as a key pillar of its clean energy transition. However, the UK’s grid operator has previously highlighted the scale of the challenge, describing the target of generating 95% of power from clean sources as ambitious but achievable.
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The Clean Industry Bonus aims to tackle these challenges by incentivizing developers to invest in supply chain infrastructure alongside their projects. This approach is expected to create jobs, enhance local manufacturing, and strengthen the UK’s renewable energy sector.
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Later this year, Britain will hold another round of renewable energy auctions, where developers compete for government-backed price guarantees on the electricity they generate. The new funding scheme will be integrated into these auctions, ensuring financial support for projects that align with the country’s decarbonization objectives.
