A raft of new renewables have been approved by Ministers to help secure Britain’s energy supply and protect households from price shocks linked to the cost of gas.
12 offshore wind projects have been given permission for development with an average wholesale cost of £90 per megawatt hour of energy generated (£90/mwh). In 2026 to date the cost of electricity generation has been around £94/mwh. The projects are expected to create at least 7,000 jobs.
Data from ECIU suggests that without wind power on the grid, the cost of electricity in 2025 could have been as high as £121 per MWh meanwhile, experts claim that new gas-fired power plants are unable to generate electricity much below £150/mwh.
Gas-fired electricity-generating power stations have also been controversial for charging extortionate rates to operate during peak demand times, making profits which were not subject to the Windfall Tax.
A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:
“These auction results are exactly the kind of outcome households need after years of volatile bills driven by fossil fuels.
“Wind power is already cutting prices by pushing expensive electricity generated by gas-fired power stations off the system and this trend looks set to continue. With the North Sea running out of gas and new gas power plants taking close to a decade to deliver, renewables create a credible route to more stable pricing and energy security.
“But lower costs on paper must translate into lower bills in reality.
“Consumers need full transparency on how these contracts will affect prices, clear limits on excess profits across the energy industry and electricity pricing reform so the savings from clean power are properly passed through.
“If that happens, today’s announcement can be a real step towards ending fuel poverty, not just hitting targets.”