Team Blitz India
LONDON: The United Kingdom has increased Government support for a scheme promoting renewable energy in order to generate low-carbon electricity.
The Energy Security Secretary recently announced a £22 million increase in Government backing for renewables through the flagship Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme – taking the total budget to £227 million.
“Today’s funding through our flagship Contracts for Difference scheme – the lifeblood of our renewables industry for nearly a decade – will help grow our economy by making Britain the first choice for investors in renewable energy projects and secure skilled jobs for future generations,” stated Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps. The CfD scheme, launched in 2014, has already led to an increase in the proportion of the UK’s energy coming from renewables.
Flagship mechanism: It is the Government’s flagship mechanism for supporting low-carbon electricity generation. It is aimed at incentivising investment in renewable energy by providing developers of projects with high upfront costs and long lifetimes with direct protection from volatile wholesale prices.
At the same time, to protect consumers from paying increased support costs when electricity prices are high.
In 2022, renewables fuelled around 42 per cent of the UK’s electricity generation – up from seven per cent in 2010 – compared to around 21 per cent in the US and 23 per cent in Japan.
In the first quarter of 2023, renewables generated a record 48 per cent of the country’s electricity, all making strong progress towards the government target to deliver a decarbonised power sector by 2035 and net zero by 2050.
