London announces 'record number' of renewable energy projects

"This is the largest" group of projects adopted during a call for tenders in the field of renewable energy, between onshore or offshore wind, solar or tidal energy, the British government specified in a press release.

With just under 10 gigawatts (GW) announced, however, it is not the largest in terms of capacity. In 2022, the executive had announced nearly 11 GW.

The previous call for tenders, in 2023, failed to attract any offshore wind projects, a sector that is nevertheless crucial for the country's energy transition, as companies were discouraged by a regulated price that was too low in these contracts allocated by the government.

This contract price had been raised in November by the previous Conservative government and the new Labour executive has meanwhile "increased the budget by 50%" for the new call for tenders, the Ministry of Energy said in its press release.

"Offshore wind is back in British waters (...) with 9 contracts awarded" including "the largest wind farm projects in Europe, Hornsea 3 and Hornsea 4 off the Yorkshire coast," he added.

The approximately 5 GW of offshore wind announced on Tuesday "is of course welcome, but it only represents about half of what is needed each year to meet" the government's offshore wind targets, pointed out Ami McCarthy of the NGO Greenpeace.

The new Labour government launched its major green energy plan in July with the ambition of making the United Kingdom a "world leader" thanks in particular to a new public company, Great British Energy.

With 8,3 billion pounds (9,9 billion euros) of public money over five years, it will be responsible for investing in floating wind turbines, tidal energy and nuclear power.

As soon as it came to power in early July, Keir Starmer's Labour government lifted what it considered to be a "de facto ban" on the construction of new onshore wind farms in England, where opposition from a few local residents could block projects.