“We all want the same thing – to get more secure, low-cost green offshore wind built in our waters,” Anderson said. Keith Anderson, the chief executive of ScottishPower, said: “This is a multibillion-pound lost opportunity to deliver low-cost energy for consumers and a wake-up call for government. The industry warnings intensified after Vattenfall said in July that it would cease working on the multibillion-pound Norfolk Boreas windfarm because rising costs meant it was no longer profitable. Industry insiders said the three offshore wind developers behind these plans – SSE, ScottishPower and the Swedish company Vattenfall – were forced to sit out the bidding after ministers refused to heed their warnings. Nevertheless, the absence of giant new offshore windfarms will make the UK’s climate targets far more difficult to achieve. The winning projects include solar farms, onshore windfarms, the first geothermal schemes and a record number of tidal power. The government confirmed on Friday that only 3.7GW of new clean energy projects secured a contract, in a significant blow to the UK’s clean energy targets. That would have saved consumers £2bn a year compared with the cost of using electricity generated in a gas power plant, according to the industry group Renewable UK. Up to 5 gigawatts of offshore wind was eligible to compete, which could have powered nearly 8m homes a year. The government’s “energy security disaster” means the UK may miss out on billions in investment and may also push up bills for working households, the Labour party said. The companies had warned ministers repeatedly that the auction price was set too low for offshore windfarms to take part after costs in the sector soared by about 40% because of inflation across their supply chains.
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