The projects are estimated to provide up to £12bn of private investment and will support 8,500 jobs.
Once built, the successful projects will contribute around 15TWh or 14 percent of the renewable electricity expected to come online by 2020. Potentially they will add 4.5GW (4 percent) to Britain’s energy mix.
The projects have been offered under the Contracts for Difference (CfD) mechanism whereby the government guarantees a fixed price it will pay for the electricity produced over the first 15 years of the plants operation.
The projects are:
–Offshore wind farms at the Outer Moray Firth, Liverpool Bay, the Wash, and the Cumbrian and Yorkshire coasts
–Biomass conversion plants at Drax and Lynemouth power stations in Yorkshire and Northumberland
–Biomass and CHP power station in Middlesbrough
Energy secretary Ed Davey said: These contracts for major renewable electricity projects mark a new stage in Britain’s green energy investment boom.
“By themselves they will bring green jobs and growth across the UK, but they are a significant part of our efforts to give Britain cleaner and more secure energy.
“These are the first investments from our reforms to build the world’s first low carbon electricity market – reforms which will see competition and markets attract tens of billions of pounds of vital energy investment whilst reducing the costs of clean energy to consumers.”