Europe’s Biggest Offshore Wind Market is Heading For Disaster

The UK’s annual renewable energy auction may not include offshore wind for the first time since the system for awarding subsidies began almost a decade ago, posing another potential setback to the government’s net zero targets.

Offshore wind has flourished under the auctions that have channeled state financing into vast wind farms along the UK coastline. But the process has encouraged companies to submit increasingly lower bids in order to compete, pushing down the maximum price they can offer. With supply bottlenecks and inflation increasing the cost of materials, the funding on offer this year may be too little to attract any bidders. The results will be announced next month.