The UK government has announced plans to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2025, as it switches to generating energy from renewable sources.
In November last year, it first announced its intention to take unabated coal out of the energy mix.
The government has reiterated its commitment to spend £730m of annual support on renewable electricity projects over this parliament.
It has outlined plans to offer £290m funding for renewable electricity projects.
For the second Contracts for Difference auction, the government will start accepting bids for the funding from April next year.
The auction is expected to result in enough renewable electricity to power around one million homes and reduce carbon emissions by around 2.5 million tonnes per year from 2021/22 onwards.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said: It will also allow developers of innovative renewable technologies to deliver the best deal for bill payers.
“For example, the maximum price for offshore wind projects is now 25% lower than was set for the last auction, and a competitive auction could bring that price down further.”
The government said that a consultation is being launched to ease uncertainty over whether onshore wind projects on remote islands should be treated differently from onshore wind projects on mainland Great Britain.
BEIS said: “These are essential elements of the Government’s plan to upgrade the UK’s energy infrastructure, lower our carbon emissions and spur on the growth of large scale, low-carbon energy – a key part of the global deal to tackle climate change agreed in Paris last year.”
Image: The UK first announced its intention to take unabated coal out of the energy mix in November last year. Photo: courtesy of John Kasawa/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net.