Solar projects totalling just under 2GW have secured CfDs in the latest Allocation Round, the most of any technology. Around 400MW is to be delivered in 2025-2026, 150MW in 2026-2027 and 1.4GW in 2027-2028, according to the results. The strike price for all projects is £47 per megawatt-hour. The largest successful scheme is being developed by Enso in England. The name of the 57MW project has not been disclosed. Fifteen projects of around 50MW were also backed in the round. Lightsource’s Hulam scheme will be delivered in 2027-2028 with CfD backing while JBM won support for a number of schemes including the 50MW Ashorne and Stoneshollow. Low Carbon has been offered contracts for ten solar projects with a capacity of more than 350MWp. Chief investment officer at Low Carbon, Steve Mack said: “Together these projects, coupled with more than 300MWp we secured in last year’s auction, will play an important role in supporting the rollout of solar energy across the UK and provide investment certainty in the solar supply chain as we look to make further progress on reaching net zero.
“They will also make a material contribution to the UK’s energy security and cut bills for consumers, while creating further momentum for our own ambition of delivering 20GW of new renewable energy capacity by 2030.” RWE secured four solar and two solar co-located with battery storage renewable energy projects. Katja Wünschel, chief executive for onshore wind and solar Europe & Australia at RWE Renewables, said the auction would “drive forward an ambitious solar portfolio, beginning with the construction of our first solar project in the UK, as one of the country’s leading solar energy partners”. She added: “It’s an important success for the teams supporting those technologies, especially those behind our rapidly expanding new solar business in the UK. “The expansion of renewable energies must be swift and decisive if we’re to achieve the government’s net zero targets and RWE is playing its part by targeting the rapid deployment of an exciting pipeline of new onshore and solar projects.”
Chris Hewett, chief executive of Solar Energy UK, added: “We are pleased that so many solar projects have been successful in AR5, particularly as solar has only recently been able to participate. “This shows how resilient solar has become to economic shocks. It remains the cheapest way to generate power in the UK. “That said, we need to be roughly doubling the pace of solar installations to meet the Government’s capacity target of 70GW by 2035. “CfDs are far from the only route to market for utility-scale solar. Some developers will prefer to sell on a merchant basis or seek a long term power purchase agreement. “The AR5 results are therefore not a cap on deployment of solar farms and we are seeing record high rooftop solar installation in 2023.”
Credits: renews.biz [Image: Lightsource]