EDF Renewables UK welcomes Contract for Difference success

Two EDF Renewables UK projects bid into the Contract for Difference (CfD) auction round held by the UK Government’s BEIS department have been successful.

The projects are the Stornoway wind farm on the Isle of Lewis and Stranoch wind farm in Dumfries and Galloway. Together these onshore wind farms will provide 300 MW of low carbon electricity which is an important contribution to reaching net zero.

The CfD scheme is a UK Government mechanism which supports low-carbon electricity generation. It does this by providing developers with a stabilised price for their electricity output, protecting them from fluctuating wholesale prices. This incentivises investment by developers and also shields consumers from paying support costs when electricity prices are high. 

EDF Renewables UK’s CEO Matthieu Hue said, “This is fantastic news for our two  projects which we are looking forward to building and further contributing to the UK’s net zero targets. Another 10.79 GW of renewables is definitely a hugely positive move in the right direction.

“It has been great to see onshore wind and solar included in the CfD auction as they are cost competitive and quick to build. These are very important benefits at a time where energy security and the cost of living are in sharp focus. 

“We are disappointed our Blyth 2 project did not win a CfD as we firmly believe the project would be key to enabling more floating offshore wind projects. Our priority now will be to look at other ways to deliver this.”

Stornoway Wind Farm on the Isle of Lewis is a joint venture with Wood. The project has won a CfD for 200 MW capacity, the strike price was £46.39, the target commissioning date is 31 March 2027.

Stranoch wind farm has won a CfD for 99.96  MW  capacity, the strike price was £42.47, the target commissioning date is 31 March 2025.

We will announce more news in respect to these projects as soon as we have it.

Notes to Editors:

About the strike price:
Stranoch £42.47/MWh (in 2012 money, equivalent to £51.64/MWh in 2022)
Stornoway £46.39 /MWh (in 2012 money, equivalent to £56.41/MWh in 2022)

About EDF Renewables:
EDF Renewables UK and Ireland is a subsidiary of EDF Group’s, one of the world’s largest low carbon electricity companies, and our investment and innovation is reducing costs for consumers and bringing significant benefits for communities. With our operating portfolio of 37 renewable energy sites including onshore and offshore wind (together totalling more than 1 GW) we are providing much needed affordable, low carbon electricity. We are currently building another 700 MW of wind, battery and solar PV projects. We have an expanding portfolio with almost 5 GW of projects in planning and development.