Zero. That was the sum total of new UK offshore wind projects bought by developers at a key government auction Thursday, as renewable energy groups shunned the sector as unviable even with heavy taxpayer subsidies.
The BBC reports potential firms argued the consumer price set for electricity generated was set too low to make offshore wind farms viable.
For its part the government blamed the zero bids on a “global rise” in inflation impacting supply chains that had “presented challenges for projects.”
It said while offshore and floating offshore wind projects did not feature on the agreed deals list, the outcome was “in line with similar results in countries including Germany and Spain.”
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero acknowledged the lack of new offshore wind farms will be a blow to the pledge to deliver 50 gigawatts (GW) of the source by 2030 compared with 14 GW today.
The government’s annual auction invites companies to bid to develop renewable energy projects and contracts to supply the UK grid with electricity through offshore wind farms amongst other alternatives.
The scheme ensures projects receive a guaranteed price from the government for the electricity they will generate, which it is hoped will enable companies to have the confidence to invest.
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Investor rejection of the sector in the UK comes as the rest of the world shows no sign in losing its appetite for coal fired electricity generation, as Breitbart News reported.
In January the United Kingdom turned to coal-fired power plants saved from being decommissioning to keep the lights on as other power sources failed.
Three coal-fired power plants, two at Drax in Yorkshire and one at West Burton in Lincolnshire, were ordered to make themselves ready for use as a cold snap combined with short cloudy days and very little wind saw solar and turbines producing little energy and unable to produce base load power to the national grid.
Elsewhere coal is still king when it comes top providing reliable power on command even as Western governments tell their citizens to make more sacrifices for “climate change.”
A report from two energy research groups last month found China has over 300 more coal power plants in the works, issuing permits for another 52 gigawatts of coal power in just the first half of 2023 alone.
The report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said China doubled its commissions of coal plants in 2023, meaning its coal spree is accelerating at an unprecedented pace.