Media

8 September, 2023
Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, by Galya Gornishka

The British government's latest call for tenders to allocate new offshore wind fields has ended in failure, reported France Press. This is a testament to the crisis in the wind energy sector, which is key to Britain's energy transition.

While the Energy Department said in a statement today that it was pleased with "a record number of clean energy projects receiving government funds," it acknowledged that not a single offshore wind project was included in this year's allocation.

Energy Secretary Graham Stewart assured that such developments followed similar tenders in Germany and Spain, which was "a consequence of rising inflation globally and the impact on the supply chain".

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the price of raw materials used in offshore wind farms such as steel, aluminum and copper has risen significantly, and tariffs for the electricity to be delivered once they come online have hit their ceiling.

According to energy companies, this cap is currently insufficient to make these projects profitable.

Criticism on the issue rained down today from all sides.

"The failure of the renewables auction is the biggest disaster for clean energy for at least a decade and puts Britain's decarbonisation targets at risk," charged the environmental organization Greenpeace.

"This makes Britain more dependent on fossil fuel energy which is imported and more expensive," she added, calling for rapid reform of the auction system.

According to Britain Remade, the economic growth association, the failure of the tender will cost around £1bn a year in extra electricity costs.

He blames British governments for not heeding warnings to companies in the sector.