Draft 'strike prices' for future UK offshore wind projects will be published this July, with a final decision due by year-end, the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) announced today. It also named the technical advisors that will help it implement its upcoming electricity market reform (EMR) programme.
Round 3 offshore wind developers are likely to welcome a clear schedule from the UK government on setting the price to be paid to generators for the electricity produced by projects finalised during the first phase of the contracts for difference (CfD) regime.
The level chosen for the offshore wind strike price may influence developers' decisions about whether to progress projects rapidly, so that they qualify for the existing renewable obligation certificates regime, or to slow things down and negotiate terms va a CfD.
Decc's EMR technical advisory panel will be led by Norma Wood, who oversaw key details of the UK's electricity market privatisation. Wood will be supported by: Andris Banksovskis, who has contributed to electricity market regulation in Scotland and Ireland; Guy Doyle, chief economist for energy and carbon at consultancy Mott MacDonald; and David Newbery, research fellow at Imperial College London and advisor to UK, Dutch and Irish electricity market authorities.
