The East of England Energy Zone (EEEZ) is gearing up for the opening of bids in the second Contracts for Difference (CfD) round in October by stepping up its on-going dialogue with potential supply chain investors in the industry to commit to setting up in the area.
The East of England now looks certain to be Westminster’s choice to develop as the UK’s offshore wind powerhouse, said James Gray, EEEZ’s inward investment director, said.
The East of England has price on its side for future success. The government will be looking for value for money for the taxpayer and ScottishPower Renewables’ aggressively low strike price for East Anglia Array ONE, the first East of England winner in the first round, at £119, has set the price for future allocations.
“If it is value for the taxpayer that is uppermost in the government’s mind, there is no better place to achieve that than in the East of England where we not only have a track record of delivery but have already set a low price bar,” Gray said.
After its first CfD round success, ScottishPower Renewables immediately announced that it planned to bid for the remainder of its 1.2GW planning consent in future auctions, which will lead to East Anglia Three and Four wind farms, which, as a whole, will cover an area of the Southern North Sea as big as Norfolk.
“My strong belief is for a clear concentration of activity based around the East Anglia ports and Humber,” Gray said.
RWE’s 340MW Galloper project could also still be developed under the Renewable Obligation model (ROCs) with an announcement from RWE expected soon.
The majority of UK development projected for the next five to seven years will also be close to the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts.
To prepare for the new build outs, Gray is continuing his campaign around the UK and internationally on behalf of NSEA, a consortium of local authorities in the region NSEA, chamber of commerce and EEEGR, Norfolk and Suffolk County Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Waveney District Council and North Norfolk District Council.
It promotes heavily the successful track records in offshore wind as well as the facilities and positioning of the ports at Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth and Wells as well as development potential and land availability for companies, workforce statistics and skills developments at colleges in north Suffolk and east Norfolk in partnership with employers.
Consent for more East of England wind farms in the second and third rounds of the Contracts for Difference auctions would be the confirmation investors needed that the Southern North Sea off north Suffolk and east Norfolk was definitely the area earmarked for future UK offshore wind development, Gray said.
The second allocation round will be formally announced in July along with the strike prices for offshore wind – which falls into the Pot 2 technologies –as well as supply chain guidance for projects over 300MW.
Companies have until November to submit their bids for the next round, which opens on October 21 and closes on November 4. Winners could be named by January 7 2016 with March 29 the outside date.
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